Rise of the Vongola
by FoxboroSalts
Summary: Harry Potter was rescued from the Dursley's when he was ten. Later, he learned that he was the heir to one of the most powerful Wizarding Mafia factions, the Vongola family. Harry/Daphne. Abandoned.
1. Chapter I

A/N: I do not own Harry Potter.

* * *

Chapter I

October 28 1990

Surrey, England

"BOY!!!!" A shrill voiced rang out through the house.

_'THUD'_

"Son of a..." The boy groaned as he banged his head on the ceiling of his cupboard.

The aforementioned 'boy' blearily opened his eyes and groped for his glasses. He sighed and then proceeded to look around his cramped surroundings. He sighed was brought out of his musing when his cupboard door was trashed open and he was violently pulled by the scruff of his collar, facing a snarling, purple-faced uncle Vernon.

"Are you deaf boy? Or did you not hear your aunt calling for you?" He hissed menacingly.

Schooling his features, making his expression blank, he replied in an emotionless tone "Sorry uncle Vernon." He inwardly snickered. 'that always freaks them out.'

Anger somewhat deflated by his nephew abnormal behaviour, "Good, go cook breakfast." Vernon said. Vernon shoved his nephew towards the kitchen while keeping his beady eyes on him, Vernon watched as his freaky nephew began to cook breakfast. He realized how eerily similar his nephew was to the kids in 'Children of The Corn'. 'No, no' he thought to himself. A worried frown marred his rather oval face. 'Best not think about such things' It was one creed Vernon stuck by; _Ignorance is bliss_. Ignoring his nephew and his freaky ways was the key to a happy home life in Privet Drive.

Harry Potter at ten years of age came to a conclusion that many others would face in their mid-teens, his life sucked. Well, it had its up and downs "Mostly down..." he muttered to himself. He ruffled his messy hair as he stared at his reflection on the refrigerator door, any attempts to flatten his hair was pointless, at least he'd be able to annoy his aunt with his _'grunge'_ look. He chuckled silently.

In school, Harry was at most an above-average student, while not exactly the advanced class level, one thing he prided himself in was that he was rather practical for a ten year old.

"Boy, hurry up with that breakfast, will you." His uncle said as he slipped back into his conversation with Petunia regarding his sister, Marge.

Harry quietly grumbled under his breath as he cooked. While the Dursley were not the most decent folks to live with, Harry realized that it could have been a lot worst, if they had refused to take him in. Though he grew up without much of a happy childhood, he at least appreciated their effort in taking care of him when he was younger. After an uneventful breakfast, one where in most days would find most of the Dursleys sans Harry bemoaning about forces outside their control, He politely asked to be excused from the house.

"Remember to clean up the dishes before you go, boy." His aunt Petunia's shrill voice echoed from the hall of the house.

Once safely outside the vicinity of the Dursley household, Harry found himself in quite a conundrum; he was ten, friendless, moneyless and well bored. Thus, in desperation, he looked towards the cloudy sky and asked. "Do you hate me that much?" He stood there for a moment before realizing that no one and/or being was going to answer him. Not that he was expecting an answer, but it would have been nice. He shivered slightly from the breeze before noticing his surroundings. He soon found himself to be the centre of the street's attention.

_"Always thought that there was something wrong with that Potter boy."_

_"Didn't Petunia say that their nephew had some mental illness?"_

_"Does it look like it's going to rain later, John?"_ A man chuckled.

Amidst the whispering of the citizens of Privet Drive, he could hear them gossiping about him. He sighed and cursed his luck. Ducking his head down to keep the worthless masses from seeing him blush from their comments, he high-tailed to the local park.

*~*~*~*~*

Unbeknownst to Harry, he was under the surveillance of two men in a non-descript van.

"That's ze kid?" said thug number one with a heavy Italian accent.

"Si, Harry Potter." Thug number two replied. He began to shuffle through some documents on his lap and begun to recite his particulars. T-One guffawed. "Seems kind' of short for a ten-year old." He paused. A look of worry etched on his face. "Do 'you tink hiz guardianz ar' abu'zing him?" He asked his partner.

"Says in here' zat he's living with some Dursley family. Could be a possibility, better not rule eet out." T-Two said as he continued to observe the target.

"Does seem thin' for his 'age..." He muttered.

"Fottere, I can't believe zat ze heir's been 'living like some' muggle." asked T-One with a look of disbelief. T-Two sighed; the higher-ups aren't going to like this. 'At least we have found ze heir.' He thought. "Let's report 'back, we'll wait' for the Council's decizion." And with that, T-One turned the ignition key and started the van. With one last look at the black-haired boy, he shuddered. He remembered those green eyes of the boy, how eerily similar to the previous leader of the family.

*~*~*~*~*

Harry absent-mindedly ran his finger on his scar; he never knew how he got it except for the very vague 'accident' he was told he was in which also took the lives of his parents. The Dursley refused to elaborate any further and would often retaliate with the only way they knew how, "IN THE CUPBOARD, NOW!" He soon found himself standing in front of the gate to the park; it creaked eerily as Harry pushed it open. His feet took him to the nearby swing set. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realized how long he just sat there until he heard his cousin's voice.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the little freak." Dudley said giddily. Harry groaned. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Dudley and his motley crew of idiots. The idiots behind him were snickering. Harry sighed; he hated dealing with his cousin and his friends. He had somehow become the object of hate among the neighbourhood kids especially the boys.

He wondered what he had done to deserve this fate and again stared at the sky waiting for an answer. 'Damn, maybe I was an accountant in my previous life.' He mused, completely ignoring the people in front of him.

Dudley was slightly nervous when he noticed the change in his cousin's demeanour and again tried to rile him up by insulting another aspect of Harry's shortcoming. He and the rest of his cronies chortled at his insult.

"Don't laugh Dudley, when you laugh your whole body jiggles and it just _errghh-_" Harry scrunched up his face in disgust. "I mean, it's not exactly pleasant to see a man jiggle, just ask Polkiss, he knows." Dudley reddened in embarrassment before facing Polkiss, silently daring him to agree with his freak cousin. Pier Polkiss just backed down in response, shuffling to the back of the group.

Turning his attention on Harry again, he pounded his hands together, a grim smile on his face. "Looks like we're gonna have to teach the stupid little freak a lesson." Dudley said as his minions mimicked his actions.

"Oi, I resent that, I'm not short." Harry shot back. It had been an Achilles heel of his, he hated how short he was, and then again he was only ten. Harry backed away slowly as the group advanced on him. 'Thud' He felt his back pressed against a tree. At the corner of his eye, Harry saw green-coloured snake resting near the ground and just within his reach. In one swift move, he grabbed the snake by the tail and clamped his hand over its neck.

'Do snake even have necks?' He pondered. (Well anyway, he clamped his hand just behind its head) Its mouth open as it bared its fangs to the group.

'_Stupid human_.' He heard something hiss. '_Let Isis go_.' he heard the voice again.

Without a second thought, he begun to advance slowly on the group, his hand firmly gripped on the snake so that it doesn't wriggle out of his hands and try to bite him. Actually, the snake was harmless; he usually saw one in the backyard of the house when the Dursley gave him chores to do. At least he guessed that it was harmless, 'Not exactly a herpetology expert.' He reasoned. Fortunately, Dudley and his gang didn't know this so it was pretty much fifty/fifty for them.

"Come any closer and the snake bites, Diddykins." Harry hissed, knowing that the use of his mother's nickname for him would enrage the boy. The group cowered and screamed.

"It's poisonous, one bite and you'll..." He left the sentence hanging, leaving the threat of death in their minds. Technically; he didn't threaten them with death by snake, much more like hypothetically speaking if he were to hold a snake that was about to bite and Dudley was indeed too close to the snake, he could possibly die.

'See, all he did was hold the snake if it bit those idiots, it's their own fault.' His logic reasoned.

Harry found a sadistic pleasure in watching the Dudley cower in fear of him especially when he ran away screaming for his 'mummy'. He knew that he'd get it once he returned to the house but it was worth it. Slowly, he put the snake down on the grass muttering a quick apology. He noticed that the snake looked shocked at something.

'Can a snake look shocked?' He pondered again.

_'__Stupid human.' _he thought he heard the snake say as it slithered into the bushes. Harry stared at the spot where the snake disappeared. He shook his head. 'Damn the heat must be getting to my head.'

*~*~*~*~*

Somewhere in Rome, Italy

(The following conversations are in "Italian")

In a dark-lit spacious room, several people crowded around a long table. People were conversing with one another in low, hushed voices. 'Morale is high' Alphonso Zanetti thought. Alphonso had seen a lot in his seventy -five years of living and never regretted his decision that eventually led him here. He smoothed out his greying-white hair, once it had been a thick brown, flowing and curled at the end. He longed for those days back then. Now, he felt old, his face cluttered with wrinkles and a long scar marred the left side of his cheek. Alphonso sat at the end of the table and banged his hand on the desk. "Silence" His voice carried through the room, effectively ending all conversations as the people seated gave him their full attention.

"I have called the Council together to discuss an urgent matter." He started. "We have just received a report from our people in England." He paused. "As you have heard the rumours these past weeks, it seems that the heir has indeed been found." As Alphonso scanned the room, he saw the relieved faces of the Council members that were called in to this meeting.

"How is the boy?" One of the Council members asked. Alphonso cleared his throat.

"Earlier reports are inconclusive; however, it seems that our associates in England commented that the boy seemed rather thin for his age. We have reason to believe that the boy is being abused by his guardians." The Council members were instantly on their feet, outraged that their heir was being abused, members shouting at Alphonso to act immediately. It took several minutes to calm the situation so that the meeting could proceed.

"Do we know anything about the boy's guardians?" Another asked.

"Yes, it seems that he was put under the care of one Vernon and Petunia Dursley, a blood relative of his mother, one Lily Evans. They appear to be a normal muggle family. However, our associates have dug up some rather unsavoury remarks about the husband, a mid-level employee at a drilling company, Grunnings." Alphonso paused and began shuffling through the report. "It seems that our Vernon here has several sexual harassment complaints filed against him by several female employees. More so, it seems that these complaints mysteriously vanished and the women sacked." He chuckled. "Blackmail material, wouldn't you say?" He finished the sentence with a dark smile on his face.

"Al, how exactly are you going to convince these people to give up guardianship of the heir?" His long-time friend Omero Gustav asked.

"Why..." He paused and chuckled. "I'm going to make an offer they can't refuse" The Council members laughed at the running 'Godfather' joke.

"What's his name?" One Council members asked amidst the laughter. "Ahhhh, I was wondering when someone was going to ask me that."

Alphonso paused. "Harry James Potter, soon, Harry Potter-Vongola."

Silence descended on the room, many have heard of the story of the Boy-Who-Lived. A supposed baby who was able to defeat one of London's most feared Dark Lord whose influence until now bring fear to the wizards and witches of England.

"Ah, yes...." He stopped and looked at his watch. "I'm afraid we have to cut the meeting short, there's a lot of work to be done." With that he left the room, leaving a stunned Council to absorb this new information.

Alphonso let a small smile grace his face. Soon, the Vongola family will rise again. He was brought out of his musing when he heard hurried footsteps trailing after him. "Guus, something you'd like to ask?" He said with a quirk on his lips.

Omero 'Guus' Gustav at one point in life was once revered as the best at 'getting things done' in the family. Despite reaching seventy-two this year, many knew better than to cross with that 'Crazy Russian'. He had a muscular build and was at most 5"11". Gustav had a square face with high cheekbones, his white hair was cropped but what was most striking was the long scar that ran from his forehead to his left cheek, and the eye-patch covering his left eye.

"Al, we have been friends since the 40s, there is nothing you can hide from me. Now spill, old man."

Alphonso chuckled. "Three years, good friend, three and you're calling me old." He sighed. "I believe that there will be resistance if we try for the full guardianship for our young master, especially, the magical guardianship, we can't get it without alerting some rather prominent figureheads which I rather not get into right now."

"Hmmm....the glorified schoolteacher? Dumbledore?" Gustav let out a booming laugh. Alphonso smiled at his long time friend. "Yes, a schoolteacher he may be but his influence runs deep within England's ministry. If we were to fight him in the court of law in Britain, we would lose and our young master will be further from our grasp." Alphonso finished with a faraway look in his eye.

Gustav chuckled. "You want me to rub him out?" His grey eye twinkling.

Alphonso let out a strangled cough. "Not quite, old friend, however, there is an alternative. We could perhaps gain the muggle guardianship and bring him to here to for his 'rite-of-passage'. Wait until he reaches of age and then, perhaps make his return to England."

"Rather devious Al, as long as it rubs the older coot the wrong way, it's a fine plan in my eye." Gustav said.

"Good Guus, contact Gerard in England. Tell him the latest development and ask him to start with the muggle custody papers. Inform him that our young master is to stay at his manor until we are ready to bring him to Rome." Alphonso ordered.

"It shall be done." Gustav replied and with that, he walked away.

*~*~*~*~*

Surrey, England

November 1 1990

Harry Potter was not having a good week. The look on his uncle's face when he returned home after the now infamous _'snake-incident'_ (which was known throughout the neighbourhood) was terrifying.

The Dursley rarely abused him physically but he admitted that that night had been one that sent shivers down his spine.

_-Flashback-_

_As he slowly pushed open the door to the house, he could hear hurried footstep rushing towards the door._

_Vernon immediately gripped his feeble arm, slammed the front door and dragged him to the living room. He tried to squirm out of his uncle's grasp but a menacing glare from him scrapped all ideas of resistance._

"_After all we've done for you-"He hissed dangerously as he kept a firm grip on his arm "you had to spit back in our faces didn't you?"_

"_But uncle Vernon-"Harry stuttered._

"_BUT NOTHING!" He roared. Immediately, realizing his mistake, he looked out the window fearfully, hoping the neighbours didn't hear his outburst._

"_Petunia, close the curtains, Dudley, go watch the telly." Vernon ordered._

"_But, Daddy I wanna see you beat up the freak." He whined pitifully._

"_GO!" He hissed at Dudley. Seeing Dudley yelp as he fell from the couch would have been funny if he wasn't facing this situation right now._

"_What did I say about your freakiness boy?" He snarled "Dudley and his friends saw you hissing at that snake! Like some sort of evil voodoo mumbo-jumbo." he half-shouted._ "_That Pier kid's father just called me, saying that you threatening his son. He's thinking of pressing charges against us boy"_

"_Technically-"Harry tried to counter weakly._

_He was cut short when his uncle backhanded him across the face, again and again. He could hear his shoulder pop out of place by the tight grip Vernon had on his arm when he stumbled back awkwardly._

_Finally, after ten minutes, he was unceremoniously dumped in his cupboard._

_-End Flashback-_

Getting smacked around by his uncle had left some nasty bruises on his body. This led Aunt Petunia screeching about how he was not allowed outside lest he be seen in his current state. (It wouldn't be good if the neighbours knew the Dursleys were child abusers.) Thus, Harry was locked up in his cupboard without proper food & water or even medical attention. He was pretty sure that he had dislocated his right shoulder since it was swelling so badly. He gritted his teeth. The pain was unrelenting, throbbing and it was getting insanely itchy.

'Must not scratch-' as his conscious repeated the mantra for the last 3 days.

"Fuck it all." Harry cussed, which was bad because he rarely cussed. He was sure that without some medical attention, it could become some sort of infection.

He snorted. 'Probably what they want, death by fungus.'

He was brought out of his daydream on the various ways that he could torture his relatives by the doorbell. From the cupboard, he leaned his ear against the door to hear what was going on outside. He heard only muffled voices and snippets of the conversations.

"FRIENDS-" he heard aunt Petunia shout. Throwing caution to the wind, not particularly caring either he was going to be rescued or die by the hands of his uncle; he did the only think he could think of.

"MOLEST! MOLEST!" He screamed at the top of his lungs while using his legs to bang against the cupboard door.

*~*~*~*~*

Gerard Greengrass stepped out of his black SUV and stared at his surroundings. He mentally blanched '_Errghh_...suburbia.' and he shuddered, expelling the thoughts.

He was not a happy man. From the report given by the acting head of the family, he was sure that the young heir was being abused by his relatives. The extent he was unsure of; but abuse was abuse. He would not stand for it.

Gerard was a man in his late 30's. His age was never discussed among his associates and colleagues; one thing he disliked was feeling old (like his wife Astoria Franscesca-Greengrass, she had initially refused to take his surname) and right now, he was feeling it. Two weeks before, he noticed a strand of white hair in the sea of his golden blonde while he was shaving. He was depressed for almost a week after the incident.

His intense blue eyes and strong jaw complimented his outstanding physique. Wearing a simple dark blue suit with black wing-tip shoes, 'Gerard Greengrass looked good.' He inwardly thought.

He rang the doorbell and prepared a false smile on his face, politely greeting the horse-faced woman who answered the door. He smiled disarmingly. Horse-face blushed. Inwardly, he snickered 'Still got it.'

"Hello, Petunia Dursley?" He inquired.

"Yes, I'm Petunia" Horse-face said.

"My name is Gerard Greengrass and I'm with social services. We've received a complaint from an anonymous source stating there's been a disturbance with your nephew, one Harry James Potter. Nothing to worry about, just a routine check" Gerard explained.

Petunia paled considerably and stammered "I'm sorry, he's no-tt in right no-oww, he's playing with his fri-ieends, YES! Friends" She half-shouted.

Gerard looked unconvinced "Really?" he drawled.

His next sentence was drowned out by shouts of "MOLEST! MOLEST!" and bangs coming from under the staircase.

Gerard paled and turned his attention to horse-face who know look like death had warmed over. His eyebrows furrowed and a look of anger rising across his features. "My god." He gasped as he put the pieces together. He turned back to the official representative of the social service department standing a few feet behind him. "Come" he hissed dangerously.

As he entered the house, a rather whale-like man tumbled down the stairs "What the ruddy hell are you doing just barging in my house like this." The man roared, his voice slightly louder than the young boy's screams of _'MOLEST'_. He pushed past him (which was a feat considering Isaac Newton's law of gravity and inertia) and dashed towards the small cupboard. "Harry, is that you Harry?" His voice carried a worried tone.

Fumbling with the locks, he hesitated to use his wand to cast the unlocking charm, however, he had that damn 'Statute of Secrecy' to deal with.

Finally, he managed to open the locks placed on the outside of the door, he slammed the door open to find a young boy with the most striking green eyes. Those intense eyes that could see the very soul of a man, the eyes which reminded him of the late Vongola leader which held the respect of so many men in the family. He pulled his eyes away from those striking green and noticed the bruises that littered his body, he gasped.

*~*~*~*~*

Harry stared at his saviour who was kneeling and staring at him slightly agape. "You could help you know." Harry hissed at his saviour while clutching his injured shoulder.

That seemed to shake the man back to reality. "Sorry, there Harry, you reminded me of someone I once knew. Let's get you out of here." The man cradled Harry in his arms slowly as not aggravate his injuries, especially his swelling shoulder. He slowly got him out of the house passed a stunned Dursleys and some guy he didn't recognized.

The last thought in his mind that he hoped that he wouldn't have to return to the Dursley again especially after the events that particular night as he passed out.

*~*~*~*~*

Gerard Greengrass was slightly shocked by how frail the boy was. Slowly placing him in the backseat of his car, he was slightly relieved to see the innocent look on the boy's face as he slept.

'Hehe.' he mentally chuckled 'Cute kid.' He allowed a small smile to grace his lips.

All the more enraged, at how somehow could possibly harm such an innocent child, he stormed back to the house to begin the custody battle. A dark grin on his face, 'this is gonna be fun' he thought. He was going to show these muggles why he was chosen to be one of the Vongola's consigliere and why he was known as the best attorney's in Europe. (You'd have to be one of the best with the number of cases that were compiled against the family.) The next ten minutes turned out to be one that Gerard found a sadistic pleasure in watching the Dursleys squirm.

'This is pensieve-material.' He snickered darkly.

He began rattling of over twenty offences that the Dursley had broken while 'caring' for their nephew. Some offences he was pretty sure he had made up on the spot just to spite them.

Vernon was cycling through various shades of colours ranging from light red to the current purple, with each passing minute. Petunia was already bawling and wailing a few minutes into his speech and started raving about how they were forced to take the boy by the cursed old man. Gerard composed himself before speaking.

"I suppose you were forced into this situation." He sighed and pretended to sympathize.

"But, I'm sure if you just sign these custody papers, all your problems will go away?" He added as he slid the papers towards them.

"We can't!" Petunia said. Vernon looked livid "I don't bloody care about that old man, we could get rid of the Potter brat once and for all." He shouted.

Petunia looked reluctant. "He could use his_ thing_ on us." She hissed all the while trying to avoid eye contact with Gerard. Vernon paled.

"I suppose..." Gerard paused for effect. "You're talking about Albus Dumbledore?"

That had the desired result. Unsurprising, Gerard found himself thinking why he didn't consider acting for a career. Eerily, both heads turned in unison to stare at their guest. "You're one of them?" Vernon spat.

"Yes, I am. Albus Dumbledore is of no consequence. The man is a school teacher, not some ministry official; he will be dealt with....eventually. All I ask is for you to sign and you'll never see Harry again un-"

Gerard abruptly cut his sentence as Vernon had already begun to sign with gusto. Apparently, the promise of never seeing his nephew had been too much of a temptation for him. Gerard sat there quietly watching as they finished signing the custody papers. He inwardly smiled, everything was going according to plan and soon, Harry would be safe in Greengrass Manor and later in Rome.

"Done." Vernon exclaimed happily "Never again, never again." He continued to babble. The looks of delights on the three Dursley sickened him. As he and the official headed towards the door, Gerard suddenly stopped and smirked.

"As I was saying before, you'll never see Harry Potter again unless of course he were to come back willingly for-" he lowered his voice and hissed "retribution."

"A good day to you, Dursleys." He smiled disarmingly and he walked out of the house, towards the car.

"Here." Gerard said as he handed the custody papers to the official rep. "You know what to do with it." He smirked. "It's been a pleasure working with you good sir." It had been ridiculously easy to bribe the social service department into a 'sanctioned' visit. Apparently, a social worker didn't earn a lot of money so did the entire department.

"And to you, Mr. Greengrass." said the official as he walked away.

Gerard sighed as he looked at Harry through the rear-view mirror of the car. "Let's bring you home, Harry."

* * *


	2. Chapter II

* * *

Chapter II

November 1 1990

Camden, England

Harry Potter groaned as he tossed and turned in surprisingly comfortable bed. He groaned again. He was unwilling to open his eyes, scared that this could be a dream, a very comfortable dream. He felt better. Instinctively he reached out feel his injured shoulder. 'No pain, No insane itch.' He thought. "Bliss." He suddenly said out loud with a sigh.

"You know, some people have the decency to nurse you back to health, the least you can do is acknowledge them." A feminine voice cut through the silence.

Harry blearily looked at the outline of the person. 'Damn feeble eyesight.' He cursed. Groping around to feel for his glasses, he was surprised when the outline thrust his glasses on his hands. Harry inwardly gasped. The girl before him was in his eyes '....perfect' he thought. He sighed dreamily. From the raven hair that fell down in waves past her shoulder, the smooth alabaster skin, those magnificent blue eyes that shone with intelligence. She looked roughly the same age as him.

"Stop staring." Her annoyed voice cut in.

Realizing that he was indeed staring and wanting to end the awkwardness of the situation, Harry asked the first thing that was on his mind.

"Am I in heaven? Cause you look like an angel."

Actually, Harry did think that he had died. Wasn't his fault that almost entirely the whole room was white; white sheets, white-slightly cream coloured walls and the fact that the girl was wearing a white dress. 'Wouldn't hurt to get in the good side of an angel, like they say flattery gets you everywhere' He thought.

Silence. The girl look shocked, seemingly as if her ears had betrayed her, a look of disbelief etched on her features, a faint blush on her cheeks.

"That was s-so..." The girl stuttered. "Corny, Potter." The girl then turned and stormed out of the room in a huff. "_Earrghh!_" He heard the girl scream from the hallway. Muffled laughter could be heard from the door.

"Well, you certainly made an impression on my daughter, Mr. Potter." said the man as he entered the bedroom.

"You know my name, I don't know yours." He replied as he held out his hand. "Harry Potter."

"Gerard, Gerard Greengrass". The man said as he shook Harry's hand.

"Well, thanks Mr. Greengrass, for everything you've done for me, especially the shoulder." He groaned as he stretched to work out the kinks. An awkward lull in the conversation. "Are you going to send me back?" He asked timidly.

"Well Mr. Potter, we have a lot to discuss at the moment but it's safe to say that you won't be returning to Privet Drive anytime soon. But I think that our discussion could come a bit later." He paused as he observed Harry. "You look peaky. Come, let's have dinner and I'll introduce you to the rest of my family."

Harry followed Gerard through the silent hallways of Greengrass manor. It was impressive, from what he had seen, the house was rather big and had a 19th century-ish decor complete with dark maple wood finish and very thick carpeting. As Gerard brought Harry to what he believe was the dining room, he was greeted with the sight of the girl he had seen before and a woman whom he believed to be her mother.

The mother was an exact replica of her daughter. The woman was about 5'7" with a slight muscle build, long, flowing black hair that ended past her shoulders with hazel eyes and a caring and intelligent look in her smile. An elegant dress that complimented her curvy features well. Harry gulped.

"Mr. Potter, this is my wife-" Gerard was abruptly cut short when Harry cut in.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter and you are ...._gorgeous_." He said with the most charming smile he could muster. It was the smile that melted the hearts of those old ladies at the nearby supermarket when he helped carry their groceries and earn him quite a generous amount of tip the past summer. He heard the girl snort but he kept his focus on the woman. The woman chuckled femininely. "Why aren't you a charming young man, Mr. Potter? I'm Astoria Francesca." She said.

"Greengrass." Gerard hissed at his wife, glaring at her. "Astoria Francesca-Greengrass." He added. Astoria merely rolled her eyes.

He cleared his throat and had a wicked gleam in his eyes. "And I believe you've meet my daughter, Daphne, Mr. Potter?" His lips quirked slightly. Harry blushed slightly and looked at his feet. His voice muffled and strained "Yes, we've met." He smiled at the girl who didn't return his. Slightly dejected and aware how awkward the situation was, Harry quickly changed the subject.

"So, dinner?" He asked hopefully.

He was slightly surprised to find the table holding an array of dishes. He could have sworn that it was empty when he came in. He pushed it to the back of his mind. 'Food is food.' He concluded.

It was an excellent dinner. He had never eaten something this delicious before, then again; 'The Dursley's ain't exactly the Ritz'. He thought bitterly.

He ate to his heart's content, mainly because he had been starved and locked up in his cupboard for the past three days. Dinner was accompanied by some small talk about his home life. It had indeed been an awkward moment; he wasn't really dinner-guest material.

"How do you find the food, Mr. Potter?" Mrs. Greengrass asked.

"It's great." He said cheerfully. "The Dursley mostly just give bread and plain soup." He added without thought. Embarrassed by his latest declaration, he ducked his head down and ate silently resulting in a very quiet dining room. Astoria shared a meaningful glance at her husband who merely shrugged and mouthed 'Not now'.

At the end of the meal, he was brought to the living room to have Gerard's 'discussion'. Seated in a rather comfy couch, he absent-minded ran his fingers across the fabric of the couch.

'Shag.' He thought and snickered mentally at the innuendo.

"So Mr. Potter..." Gerard started.

"Please, call me Harry." He smiled as he cut in.

"Only if you do the same for us, Harry. Call me Astoria or-" she lean in to him and added in a whisper. "Mum." A wicked gleam as she stared back and forth between Harry and Daphne. She cackled madly after hearing that particular incident during dinner, it didn't help that Gerard had elaborated it in such an exaggerated manner complete with flailing hand gestures. The duo blushed and avoided eye contact but Harry could hear her grumbling 'So damn corny.' under her breath.

Gerard had a hard time keeping a straight face, unable to imagine his little princess with another boy.

Harry chuckled weakly. Seeing a pause in the conversation, Gerard suddenly turned serious and asked "Harry, do you believe in magic?"

Harry paled considerably 'No, no....' he thought as he shook his head. The Greengrasses looked at each other worriedly.

"I knew it!" He exclaimed and jumped from his seat, finger pointing in the air, shocking the three occupants.

"You sick, sick bastard." He spat. "What! Are you gonna make me touch your '_wand_' so that '_sparks_' fly out?" Harry scrunched his face up in disgust.

"PAEDOPHILE!" Harry screamed as he pointed to Gerard. He had heard tales of what happened to some unlucky orphans from some street kid he had meet in Surrey. Harry looked at the faces of his saviour's family, disbelief etched on their faces, well; Astoria did look slightly amused 'then again, she was always the weird one.' He thought. Daphne looked aghast, unable to imagine her father doing such a thing.

"I knew it was too good to be true, no family would just save me and feed me and...." He continued to babble as he paced the room. "Unless..." He paused. "You're gonna fatten me up and sell me to some slave labour camp in China." He half-shouted as it dawned on him.

"Listen, I'm no good at sewing, they'd beat me up and spit me out, they woulds." He pleaded in a false mocking cockney accent as he knelt before them, hands held together as if he was begging. To his right, Daphne snorted.

"Snorting is unladylike." He hissed at her. Her cheeks had a faint tinge of red as she looked at him and huffed, nose pointing to the air, arms crossed.

*~*~*~*~*

Gerard sighed as he looked at the boy before him, the boy was knowledgeable, he'd give him that and a wild imagination to boot. His blue eyes however sparkled with amusement from Harry's impromptu rant. He looked at his wife of over 17 years, she was obviously holding in her laughter, her face slightly constipated. He'd admit that the boy's accent was a bit over the top. '5, 4, 3, 2...1' he counted in his mind.

Her wife's laughter carried through the room. She was clutching her sides, leaning her body against his, unable to sit properly and tears were spilling from her eyes. The boy before them stared suspiciously at Astoria.

He sighed as he pulled out his wand from his holster in his left forearm in one swift movement. Ignoring the shocked expression on Harry's face, he pointed his wand at the coffee table in front of him and intoned.

_"Fera Verto"_ and tapped his wand on the coffee table three times.

*~*~*~*~*

Harry stared as the supposed-paedophile turn the coffee table into a cream-coloured Labrador dog. He blinked. He blinked again and stared at Gerard for a moment. In a daze, he patted the dog on the head, stood up and calmly sat back down on the couch.

"Moving on." He said pointedly, slightly glaring at Gerard as he turned it back into a coffee table.

"Yes, _uhm_....Daphne sweetie, do you minding following your mother and help prepare guest room for Harry?" Gerard asked suddenly nervous.

"Fine." She huffed as she followed her mother out the door.

Suddenly, serious again, Gerard said "What I'm about to tell you is confidential, I'd rather you not go discussing this with my little girl." Harry nodded. "You may be wondering why we brought you here, you were right in thinking there was an ulterior motive." He paused. "Harry, I'm going to put it simply; you are the only surviving heir to the Vongola family, in the height of our power, one of Europe's most premier Wizarding Mafia faction."

Harry stared at Gerard dumbly, blinking his eyes repeatedly as he tried to absorb this new information. After a few tense seconds, Harry sighed and slowly rubbed his temples. "Let me guess, you want to mould me to become the head of some Mafia family?" He scoffed then stayed silent for a while contemplating his options. Gerard nodded.

"And if I refuse?" He inquired.

"Well, you should know that if you refuse, one Albus Dumbledore will be aware that you have left the _'safety'_ of your loving family and will no doubt bring you back there." He paused leaving the threat open. "You should also know Harry, that in the Wizarding World, You. Are. Famous." He elongated each word.

"Ever wondered how you got your scar? How your parents died?" Gerard continued. Seeing Harry shocked look he continued.

"A self-proclaimed most evil dark wizard in the last century-" Gerard scoffed. "by the name of Lord Voldemort." He paused. "The story goes that people didn't speak the name Voldemort because retribution was so brutal and bloody. His named was feared so much that he was called 'You-Know-Who' or 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'." Gerard explained about how Voldemort wanted to take over Magical Britain, the dispute over blood purity of purebloods and muggle-borns, the prejudice towards muggle-borns and Voldemort's circle of supporters.

"I could elaborate more but it wouldn't be relevant now." He paused to gather his thought. "Nobody knows what compelled him to attack that Halloween night in 1981, this led to ...."

As Gerard continued his story, Harry sat there transfixed, it was all clear to him now, those nights where he dreamt about that awful green light, the sickening laughter of that madman, the woman with the red hair. Those were the final moments of his mother.

"What's so special about me that I can survive this killing curse?" He asked.

Gerard sighed "No one knows while I do have my theories on it, it's not exactly spot-on, some of it does sound pretty stupid." He finished weakly. "But I'm sure Dumbledore knows." He continued.

"I don't know why Dumbledore placed you with your muggle relatives, in fact, we knew absolutely nothing. He only said that you would be in the safest place possible. I doubt the man's intentions were evil, however, he was rather misguided in his beliefs for the pursuit of the common good." Gerard said.

"So it's between a rock and a hard place?" asked Harry as he chuckled weakly. He sighed wearily; he was tired and upset at what he had heard.

Gerard sat there quietly as he let Harry ponder over these events.

After a tense five minutes, "I'll do it." Harry said. "Well you know I'm bored and all that, it'd be worse if I have to go back." He forced a chuckle. Changing his demeanour completely from the silent, brooding boy back to his usual self; but his eyes, if anyone were to guess, those were the eyes of determination.

*~*~*~*~*

"Well?" His wife asked as he entered the master bedroom.

"Just sent him back to his room." He said.

"Not that, when exactly are you going to explain how you brought home the Boy-Who-Lived? And how in the hell did he look so damn frail?" She asked angrily.

"It's complicated, honey-"Gerard started.

"Does it have to do with the Vongola?" She cut in.

"Yes" Gerard sighed. "He's the one. The Council has decided to bring him to Rome. I've explained to him and he's agreed to it."

"Did you explain what he's going to be doing? What's gonna happen to him if he agreed to this?" She asked heatedly.

Gerard chuckled. "He may be ten but I'm sure he knows what activities the mob handles." He paused. "The Council has decided to start the rite of passage as soon as he reaches the main branch in Rome."

"Doesn't that take years?" She hissed at him.

"Look, if it weren't for this, we would have never found out the condition of his home-life, I'm pretty sure from the way those muggles talked about him, they despise everything magic." Gerard said heatedly.

"He told me that this was the first time those Dursley had abused him physically after he had done some sort of accidental magic. You do realize that accidental magic increase around that age as a result of instability of the magical core prior to the child receiving a wand. If he were to stay there, the beatings would increase." He paused. "And if he were to stay here in England with us, Dumbledore will find out and bring him back since he has the magical guardianship over Harry. It's best if he were to stay in Rome." He sighed wearily.

Astoria snaked her arms on his waist, her head resting on his shoulder as they sat on the bed.

Will we see him again?" She asked worriedly, despite just meeting Harry a few hours ago, the boy had already found a place in her heart.

"When he's of age, he could come back here,_ no-_ he will come back." He said firmly.

The couple soon fell asleep in each other arms as their last thoughts were on the boy with those striking green eyes.

*~*~*~*~*

November 28 1990

Camden, England

"SOULMATES!" A young boy's voice could be heard as his voice carried through the hallways of Greengrass Manor.

"Don't you see Daph, its fate that we're meant to be together?" His tone slightly desperate and strained.

These past few weeks for Harry had been one of the best in his life, then again he was only ten years old. It had been a routine for him, eat, sleep, reading texts in the vast Greengrass library and spending time with the Greengrasses. It just so happened that Astoria had pointed him towards a book called "_Soul-bonds and You: What Does It Mean?"_ It had indeed been an enlightening day, since he finally realized the strange _'emotions'_ he was currently experience around Daphne.

"For the last time Potter, if you dare put soul, bond or mate into one sentence, I swear on my magic that I will hurt you_." _She screeched at him. "And do not ever call me Daph, Golden Boy." She added.

The relationship between the two had been strained at best while the older Greengrasses found it an endless source of amusement.

Dejected again that Daphne had once again rejected his advances, he drag his feet towards the shelves of the library, ducking his head down in chagrin. He continued to browse through the shelves to find something of interest. He found magic to be.....interesting. Apparently wizards created almost every spell for every action there was humane possible. There was even one that allowed the caster to experience 'self auto erotic asphyxiation' without the use of hands. Said book was promptly taken out of his hands by a flustered Gerard who was blushing.

All he said was "I'll explain when you're older." And with that, he simply walked away.

He fiddled with the newly-bought shirt that Astoria had bought for him during her shopping spree. A slight smile graced his lips as he remembered how Astoria had bought him 'clothes that were more befitting for a charming lad' the previous week. He had been close to tears at the thoughtfulness of her gift; he never did have clothes that fitted him before.

_-Flashback-_

"_Come on, Harry. We can't just let you dress up in those rags. You're an honorary Greengrass" She paused as she puffed up her chest._ "_We're used to the best." She added snottily, a perfect eyebrow rose as she stared pointedly at him._

_He giggled at her antics. "But I don't want to bother you aandd I donn't have any mone-y" He stuttered, blushing._

"_Nonsense, dear. It's a shopping spree" She exclaimed happily. "We're using my husband's money, no harm done."_

"_Buu-t" He continued to stutter._

_She pointedly ignored his objections as she gripped his wrist and pulled him towards the front door before she paused then pulled him back to the living room._ "_Daphne, sweetie. Shopping spree." She called out._

_Daphne, who had been sitting on the couch reading, suddenly looked up at her mother surprised before a 50k megawatt smile on her face. Harry sighed dreamily, she rarely smiled._

"_Shopping?" She asked giddily before giggling madly. "Sure." She said as she jumped up and rushed towards her mother._

"_Well, we need all the help we can with Harry here." Astoria said wistfully._

_Daphne then proceeded to look at Harry up and down slowly before realizing something. "She's right Potter, the 'grunge' look really doesn't suit you." She said with a smirk._

_Harry scowled before blushing and ducked his head down. _

_In the end, the three had ventured out to muggle London; Astoria fearing that Harry could be recognized if they brought him to any London's Wizarding niche. They stayed as far away as possible from places like Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, scared that Dumbledore's informants might be lurking there._

_It was a weary and emotionally scarred Harry that returned to Greengrass Manor. He didn't know women like to shop so much seeing as his aunt Petunia had never taken him shopping before. Also, she didn't really count as a woman, more like a genderless being. He groaned as he tried to lift his sore feet onto the couch. His arms were aching as he tried to work out the kinks, Astoria and Daphne had left him carrying the items since he was offered 'their fashion services'._

"_Shopping huh, Harry?" Gerard asked as he plopped down on the couch opposite him. Harry groaned weakly._

"_Ouch." Gerard said as he snickered. "Well, think of it as an initiation for the Greengrass men. I remember when I had to do it." He shuddered at the memory._

"_Tsk, tsk." A voice cut in behind Harry._

"_At least you didn't moan so much, father." Daphne said as she too plopped down on the couch next to her father._

"_I'd do anything for you, sweetie." Harry retorted in a strangled voice and chuckled weakly._

_Surprisingly, Daphne smiled sweetly which unnerved Harry slightly._

"_Harry, dear" she said sweetly. Harry knew this was going to end badly; she only used Harry for nefarious purposes._ "_Remember what happened when you said 'that' word last week?"_

_Harry winced, that had not been a pleasant day; he had accidentally stringed together a sentence that started with "Daphne love, could you-"He never did get to finished the sentence as she crashed her knee on his nether-region leaving him groaning on the thick carpeting in the hallways of Greengrass Manor. He was found fifteen minutes later by the Greengrass house-elf, 'Lanky' who stared at the boy in front of him and promptly ignored him, Lanky had a sudden dislike for the boy especially when Harry called him 'one ugly hobbit 'when they were introduced one evening during dinner. Later, she had told him what occurred was a 'love-tap'. Harry vowed never to suffer another 'tap' again._

"_Right, right." He mumbled. 'Never piss of a Greengrass.' he thought._

_-End flashback-_

After browsing through some of the books in the library, he was cornered by Gerard who pulled him aside to inform him that they were all going to Italy for 'vacation' (at least that's what he told Daphne) but of course, they were there to bring him to some headquarters hidden in Rome. Harry just nodded absent-mindedly.

*~*~*~*~*

December 1 1990

Camden, England

"So, why exactly are going to do in Rome?" Harry asked.

"Sight-seeing." Gerard answered in a gruff tone, glaring slightly at Harry.

The family except Astoria had gathered in the hall near the entrance to the manor. Gerard had alternately glared at the stairs and Harry for his cheek. They had been waiting for Astoria for over fifteen minutes to 'get ready'.

Daphne was sitting on her luggage-bag reading some old worn-out book. It had been a mystery Harry wanted to solve. He always wondered why she was so engrossed in her books. It was weird whenever he sat near her while she read; she would sigh dreamily, bite her bottom lips, she would look flustered all of a sudden, totally oblivious to his presence. He remembered the incident when she caught him peeking over her shoulder. She had snapped at him as she blushed and clutched the book against her chest. That merely peaked his interest more. Harry sighed, ever since then; any attempt at polite conversation with that girl always ended with her snapping at him.

"And how are we getting there?" He asked.

"Portkey." The surly man replied.

His next question was cut short with the entrance of Astoria. "Hello boys." She said perkily as she walked down the stairs. She was wearing a _'slightly'_ revealing outfit. Gerard gaped at her, then begun to rub the bridge of his nose.

"A gal has to look her best, dear." She said as she walked towards him, swaying her hips and stroking his left cheek with the back of her hand.

"Fine, fine let's go." He gave in.

It was amazing how the Greengrass family took their stance of neutrality when it came to blood purity. For a pure-blood family, it was rare that they had two cars, one an SUV and another, a more stylish sports convertible. Besides, they had all the makings of a modern home and from what he heard; most traditional pureblood families still use candles. He scoffed at the thought; it seems the Wizarding Britain still lived in the stone-age.

They stowed their luggage in the trunk of the Greengrass SUV, since apparating to the International Portkey Station was too much of a hassle with their luggage and they still had to side-along apparate with Daphne and Harry.

*~*~*~*~*

"Yes, the reservations for Gerard Greengrass to Rome, Italy?" Gerard inquired to the witch behind the service counter.

"One Portkey to Rome–"the nasally voice of the witch replied.

The rest of the sentence was drowned out as Harry continued to stare around the station watching the hustle and bustle of the wizards and witches hurrying to and fro different rooms in the station.

The station itself was a big, round hall with various doors at the sides and a big eye-catching sign _'INTERNATIONAL PORTKEY STATION' _at the top of the service counter.

Apparently, there were anti-portkey wards set up at the border of every country, if you were to suddenly apparate/ portkey inside the border of another country, the wards would redirect you to some in a ministry holding cell; stunned, bound and put under some truth serum.

"Harry." Gerard's voice cut his thoughts.

"Come along, don't want to late." He said as he directed Harry to a nearby door marked with the number seventeen. The inside of the room was bare except for a single table with what appeared to be a long piece of rope.

"_Huh?_" Came Harry intelligent reply as he looked at Gerard.

"That rope is the portkey, Harry. Now hurry up and grab onto it." He said.

As the Greengrass family and Harry crowded around the table, holding the rope, he felt rather silly at the moment.

"Please ensure that your trunk is shrunk and placed on your person" A weary voice echoed in the room. Harry looked around wildly to find the source and subconsciously checked for his luggage.

"Any trunks lost during the process will not be held responsible by the management; International Portkey Station and its various subsidiaries." The weary voice cut in again. To his right, Gerard yawned and sighed grumbling "Wish this bloody thing would hurry up."

"Please redirect any howlers, letters and comments to our complaint department in Level One." Harry swore he heard the voice sigh and muttered 'too old for this shit....'

"We would like to thank you for choosing IPS and hope that you have a pleasant journey."

"Don't let go of the rope Harry" He heard Gerard say.

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

He felt a sharp jerk around his navel as the room number seventeen disappeared. Harry finally came spinning out in a similar room and landed on his stomach. He groaned. He heard someone snickering above him to find Daphne smug face looking at him. "Don't worry Potter; first time's always the worst."

"You know that might be the nicest thing you said to me." He said as he stood only significant difference Harry could notice was that the voice that echoed in the room was Italian.

"You know what they say, 'When in Rome'." Gerard said chuckling at his own joke, only to find three confused faces staring at him."Never mind." He grumbled.

*~*~*~*~*

"Via Di Porta Pinciana, per favore signor." Gerard said in fluent Italian as the quartet got into a taxi.

"Si signor." the man replied.

"Where are we staying again?" Daphne asked.

"Splendide Royale, sweetie." Astoria replied.

Only being in Italy for five minutes, Harry Potter came to the conclusion that Italy was pretty kick-arse. Then again, he was pretty biased since this was his first vacation. Back in London, He had tried to research Rome in the Greengrass library, excited at the prospect that he was going on overseas.

He learned that Italy had a large magical community, a bit larger than that of Wizarding Britain. The magical communities were scattered, the largest one in Rome. There was the 'Balestrino' roughly the equivalent of Britain's 'Diagon Alley'.

He was slightly put out that he was unable to visit Diagon Alley back then.

There was even a magical school called the _'San Siro Scuola di Magia'_ a relatively new school compared to the rest of Europe. Built in the 1930's, its name is in honour of a football stadium built at roughly the same time. Despite Quidditch being called a Wizarding pastime, it takes a backseat when it came to football. Several prominent Italian wizards over the past century have even been famous football players, especially two pureblood wizards from the 'Most ancient and noble house' of 'Tardelli' and 'Cabrini'. In Wizarding Italia, the debate over blood purity was almost non-existent considering that their current minister is a muggle-born and currently servicing the longest term ever held by a Minister in Italy.

Coupled with Italy's fascinating history and amazing landscape, needless to say that Harry was impressed. He could imagine himself staying here.

*~*~*~*~*

The quartet arrived outside Splendide Royale, amazed by the architecture of the hotel, well, only Astoria was amazed, the other three just looked mildly interested.

"Ah, Signor Greengrass, Benvenuti ritorno non è stato un lungo periodo." The receptionist said.

"Vhere are my manners?!" The man said in heavily accented English. "Marcel Conti." He introduced himself.

"This must be 'your children?" He asked.

"Yes, this is my daughter, Daphne Greengrass and my nephew, Harry Potter" Gerard said proudly as Daphne curtsied. Unsure what he was supposed to do, he merely ducked and scratched his head in embarrassment, slightly happy that he was considered part of the family.

"Vell, i am sure 'you are tired froms 'your flight." Marcel paused and rummaged around his counter. "'Your keys signor Greengrass. Ze bellhop shall carry 'your luggage to 'your rooms."

"Hanno un momento piacevole, Greengrass family." Marcel bowed.

"Grazie Marcel." Gerard replied.

Gerard had booked the presidential suite, impressive since a night's stay cost a substantial amount of galleons.

The room itself was similar to that of a very luxurious apartment, with a master bedroom and two other bedrooms for Daphne and Harry. A wine hamper on the table in the living room compliments from the management.

When asked, Gerard merely shrugged and said "I stay here a lot back then."

To cap a perfect day, the family spend dinner outside on the hotel's terrace, under the stars. As Harry watched his honorary family eat and make small talk, inwardly he sighed. He knew soon, they would have to part ways and he would have to stay here in Rome. Slapping himself mentally, he knew he had to make the last few days count before the inevitable would come and Daphne, Gerard and Astoria would have to return back to England.

*~*~*~*~*

Somewhere In Naples, Italy

Daniel de Rossi sat contemplating the latest report in front of him.

'The Vongola heir had been found. Curse that wretched family'. The head of the Rossi crime syndicate snarled mentally. He growled. After all he had done to assassinate the previous head of the Vongola, 'yes' he thought. 'Rather ingenious' he mentally chuckled.

He growled to the assembled audience before him. "Search Rome for the boy, be discreet. You're still technically in Vongola territory. Do not act without confirmation-" He hissed. "Report back with your findings."

"GO!" He snarled as the audience shuffled out of his office.

*~*~*~*~*

December 12 1990

Rome, Italy

Harry thought back on his last few days in Italy. It had indeed been one of the highlights of his life. They had visited several places in Rome like the Wizarding section of the colosseum, a zoo featuring magical and non-magical animals and at the behest of Gerard, even managed to watch a derby match at the San Siro Stadium.

Yesterday, they had visited the 'San Siro Scuola di Magia' for a tour of their facilities. From what they heard from Gerard, it was immensely different from Hogwarts since he called it "some drafty, old castle in Scotland." They were even offered an invitation by the Headmistress Adelena Del Grosso when they were of age. When Daphne politely declined the invitation, Harry was slightly dejected. He had hoped that she would at least consider staying in Rome.

He sighed, catching the attention of the Headmistress.

"And 'you, signor Potter?" She asked eagerly, apparently excited at the chance to publicize that her school could be teaching the Boy-Who-Lived.

Harry considered the odds of him attending here. "Perhaps." He said mysteriously. "Definitely an option." He smiled wistfully.

Receiving a quizzical look from Daphne, he merely shrugged at her. They bid the headmistress goodbye and set on to their next destination, a nearby small magical village, 'Cinque Terre'.

*~*~*~*~*

"Okay, so where we headed today guv'nor?" Harry asked Astoria in his ridiculous cockney accent.

Astoria covered her mouth as she giggled. "Ah, Harry. Never a boring day with you here." She said. Daphne merely rolled her eyes at his ridiculous behaviour.

"Balestrino-" Astoria paused. "Like Diagon Alley without all the tacky shops."

The group walked towards 'Via Mondeo' and into an alley between a cafe and a bookshop.

"Uhm, are you sure we're in the right place?" Harry asked as they walked into a dead-end. Gerard smirked at him and pulled out his wand and pointed it on a 'X' marking on the brick wall. Harry's eyebrows raised at that point as the wall vanished before his eyes. A Street full of shops came before his eyes.

"Bitching." He gasped.

* * *


	3. Chapter III

* * *

Chapter III

December 12 1990

Rome, Italy

"So, where we headed first?" Harry asked.

"Well." Astoria said with a sadistic gleam in her eyes. "You do need robes, Harry. Considering we didn't visit Diagon Alley back in London."

"No, no." Harry paled as he shook his head.

"Give it up, Potter." Daphne said as she smiled ruefully. "You can't say no to shopping." She added in a sing-song voice. The two witches cackled madly at their prey.

"Well." Gerard cut in, slightly nervous. "Good luck, I'm just gonna look around, you know, lots of things _to-_"he trailed off.

"Yes, yes. See you later, dear." Astoria said without looking at her husband, eyes focused on Harry.

"Don't leave me with them alone, Gerry." Harry said meekly and in a slightly pathetic voice. Gerard smirked then gave him a thumbs up, mouthing _'Sorry'_ before scuttling off.

*~*~*~*~*

(In Italian**)

Piertro Fanna, one of the newest inductees of 'soldiers' in the Rossi family crime syndicate was bored. Their boss had them searching for some British brat in Balestrino. So far, nada sign on the brat as he and his other two partners patrolled Upper Balestrino.

"Why exactly are we looking for this brat?" Vinicio asked.

"Non sapere, but" Marco paused and added in a whisper. "They say he's the heir of the Vongola."

Piertro eyes bulged at his statement. 'The Vongola heir?' He thought. The Vongola's always had control in Rome since late 10th century. He stared at the picture of the boy in his hand. 'Yes, the Vongolas' always had those eerie green eyes. So similar to the killing curse.' He mused. 'But why would they just want them to search for the boy.' He pondered. 'Wouldn't it be better if the boy was quickly eliminated? The Vongola family would be in disarray and the Rossi will rise as a result.'

He had been told of the tales where the previous head had died childless; back then, it looked like the family was finished. As a result, the Rossi had managed to capture a substantial amount of their business but not enough to take over the capital. That was when Alphonso Zanetti temporarily acted as the head. The Vongola had quickly stabilized especially when there were whispers of distant-relations of the Vongola's line in the previous generation who had fled from Italy.

Piertro heard someone chuckling. He turned to find the other two idiots sniggering at him.

"Piertro's lost it." Vinicio said as he waved his hand in front of his eyes.

Piertro growled and snapped at him. That was when he noticed Marco paling and started to babble.

"What?!" He snarled at Marco.

"Th-he BOY!" He half-shouted. And there he was, exiting Jean-Luc Pritchard's shop, lugging three large shopping bags. He was scowling at the two witches beside him. There was no mistaking it as he stared at the boy. 'Slightly pale skin, messy black hair, the rather small and frail body. But most of all, were those striking green eyes.'

'IT'S HIM!' His subconscious shouted.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears. His anxiety seizing him. He let out several deep breaths as he tried to compose himself.

'This is my chance.' He thought. If he succeeded Rossi would surely promote him to at least a 'captain'. He wondered what would happen if he failed but realized that was not an option. The boy was defenceless except for the rather captivating woman on his left. Shaking his head out of the gutter, he turned back to the other two; he wondered how these two had even make the rank of 'soldier' within the family. These two were idiots but rather appropriate lackeys for him.

Piertro racked his brains for a suitable plan; he was going to get the honour of helping to kill the new Vongola heir. He shuddered in anticipation. He looked at the group again, silently measuring and gauging their abilities.

'Obviously, he had to take care of the woman himself.' He thought. 'Even with these two, they couldn't even take out an average witch or wizard.' Eyeing Vinicio and Marco distastefully.

He sighed and turned towards Marco and Vinicio. "Marco, you take the boy. Vinicio, the girl. No nonsense." He ordered as he turned to observe the group again. "It's good that the father is not here, but just in case, make it quick and fast, use the killing curse."He paused. "I'll take the woman. Once you're done. Bring the boy's body and portkey back to Naples." He said as his eyes took a slightly maniacal expression.

"If we succeed, we will be rewarded greatly my friends. DO. NOT. MESS. IT. UP." He said menacingly."Okay?" As he let out a breath. "Go." He hissed.

*~*~*~*~*

Harry let out a quick moan. A whole hour of torture in that flamboyant gay guy's shop (not that there's anything wrong with that) It was pure unadulterated pain. His cheeks ache from over-smiling. He had to; women are hard creatures to please especially when they shop. One thing he learned when 'shopping' with Astoria and Daphne was that if they ask you whether they look good, you reply with a big smile and a long exaggerated speech about their beauty.

Not that he had to exaggerate at all, but didn't help that that Pritchard guy kept butting in during their fitting sessions. "You look _Mah-Vellous_, Dahling." He exclaimed at every dress they tried on, slightly glaring at Harry for some reason.

"You' should 'try on zis other' _dress-_" as Jean-Luc prattled on about his magnificent dresses to Daphne. She looked questioningly at Harry for a second. He pleaded mentally with his eyes. 'NO, Please NOOO!'

She smirked at him "Of course, Jean-Luc." That girl was too hard to please.

Sure, he reasoned that later in life, by doing such menial tasks would entitle him to some 'special' privileges but he was ten and all he wanted was to visit that damn Quidditch & Football shop. He banged his head on the back of the couch he was sitting on.

"So, Potter, how do I look?" Daphne's amused voice cut in.

Eye twitching madly, he put on his biggest smile as he prattled on. "Amazing, Daphne. Your beauty is unmatched when you're in that dress. I think I can die happy now because I've just seen a piece of heaven."

Harry briefly wondered how he came up with these corny one-liners he kept saying.

Daphne blushed slightly. Jean-Luc suddenly leaned in to Daphne and whispered loudly. "You've trained him vell, dear." Daphne covered her mouth as she snickered.

"HARRY, how do I look?" Astoria half-shouted, putting the emphasis on the 'I' as she pulled the dressing room door open.

Eyes twitching again, He dropped on one knee and proclaimed "You look breath-taking Astoria." He pretended to gasp and clutch his heart. "I hope you know CPR cause you took my breath away!" He wheezed.

"Ah, never a dull day with you. Well, I suppose we've been here quite a while. Let's ring up the purchase, maybe we'll come by later with your father with us." Astoria said happily with that bleeding gleam in her eyes.

"Of course, mother. It would be nice for more flattering comments from the guys." Replied Daphne with a smirk.

Both pointedly ignored Harry as he knelt and gazed outside the window; saying a tearful "Thank you" to the sky above. In the end, they exited the shop with Harry again being the 'bag-boy' as they call it. He scowled at them playfully.

"Don't think I'm doing this for you again."He grumbled to them, however, they still ignoring him in favour of looking at the display window of a pet shop. His attention however wandered to 'Mania di Football un Quidditch', opposite the street. He cackled gleefully. Calling out to them "Oi, I'm going over there."

"Sure, don't wander off too far." Came the muffled and distracted reply of Astoria.

*~*~*~*~*

Astoria like Daphne was currently distracted watching the kittens playing with one another in the display window. She sighed, despite everything; this had turned out to be a wonderful vacation especially with Harry being here.

She eyed her daughter beside her. Daphne had always been a quiet child, rarely even talking with her and Gerard. She just figured it had been one of those phases kids go through but Harry had really helped her out of her little cocoon. She was more hyperactive nowadays.

That boy was a blessing. It was heartbreaking that he had to stay here in Rome while they left. She looked for Harry using the reflection of the window. 'Ah, there he is' As she look at him entranced by the sports shop. 'Christmas is coming up' She thought. 'Maybe a broom or-' She wondered.

She was shook out of her musing when she saw a man in a black suit advance on Harry; another two was advancing on them.

She cursed inwardly, she let her guard down and Gerard was off somewhere. Calming herself, she whispered "Daphne, I want you to run as fast as you can, get away from this area. Can you do that, sweetie?"

"What? Mother, _wh-_"Daphne asked with a look of worry etched on her face.

"Please sweetie, when I say run, just run. Okay?" She whispered hurriedly.

In one swift motion, she pulled out here wand from her holster, turned a fired a quick _"STUPEFY!"_ across the street.

'Still got it' she inwardly thought as the hex sailed and score a hit on the head. The man later to be identified as Marco was down.

Chaos erupted on the street. "RUN, NOW!" She shouted while putting up the shield as the two assailants fired curses at her. Hopefully, this gave enough time for Daphne to cover some ground from the assailants.

"Fottere! Vinicio, andare dopo la ragazza. Dopo che ciò, uccide il ragazzo!" One of the men said.

"Oh, no you don't!" She half-screamed as she tried to hex the other man who tried to give chase to her daughter.

"Don't turn 'your back to me." Piertro said with a sneer. _"DEFODIO!"_ He shouted.

Astoria recognized the gouging curse as she leapt out of the way. The man she was fighting had some skills. She panicked; she needed to end things quick so she can help Daphne.

_"Confringo! Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus!"_ Astoria fired at Piertro in quick succession.

He dodged the blasting curse and quickly put up a shield charm which reflected the spells back. He retaliated with an entrails-expelling curse which Astoria conjured a flock of birds to intercept the spell.

_"Reducto! Reducto!"_ The man had managed to conjure a large rock to absorb her spell. He then banished the rock towards Astoria hoping for a quick kill.

_"REDUCTO!"_ She shouted, concentrating her magic into the spell. The rock shattered into tiny pieces, forcing Astoria to block with her hands to protect her face from the rocks. Coughing from all the dust in the air, she was caught off guard.

_"Impedimenta,"_ The curse struck her in the abdomen as she felt everything slow down. Piertro chuckled darkly and advance on her slowly.

"This eez such a waste, isn't eet? Mi dispiace but 'you are in ze way." He pretended to sigh. _"Avada Ke-"_ He didn't even get the chance to finish.

_"Reducto!"_ Gerard hissed to the left of Piertro, pointing his wand point blank at the man's head. A shower of blood and brain matter as it splattered the wall behind him and on Gerard's robes. He just calmly stepped forward towards his wife. _"Finite"_ He muttered. "Are you alright?" He asked in a low voice as he checked her for any injuries. She merely slapped his hands away and gripped his wrists. "Daphne, did you find her?" He voice desperate.

Gerard quickly scanned the area looking for his daughter. His eyes bulged, mouth open wide. 'Oh god, I can't make it.' Astoria quickly spun around to see what he was staring at. In, the middle of the street was her Daphne on the floor, her tear-stricken face as she looked up at the assailant, wand raised.

"NOOOO!" She screamed.

_'CRACK'_ The sound of the gunshot carried through the silence.

*~*~*~*~*

Lower Balestrino, Rome

(20 or so minutes prior)

Omero Gustav had been sitting in 'Dirty Dick's'; a pub run by a British-wizard expatriate, for a good thirty minutes getting sloshed. Presently, he was in Lower Balestrino, the seedy red-light district of Wizarding Italia.

Want to buy illegal polyjuice? Come to Lower Balestrino.

Want to buy some dark arts artefact? Come to Lower Balestrino.

Want to find a cheap hooker? Well, you get the drift.

He checked his watch '2.30 p.m _Hmmm_.' He had agreed to meet with Gerard Greengrass soon at Upper Balestrino. He took out his flask from the inside of his trench coat pocket, he corked open the top, tilted his head back and raised his flask.

'Damn empty.' The Russian realized as he shook the flask. "Oi Dick, get your dirty ass over here!" He ordered in fluent English with a slight British accent.

"What, Guus?" He asked.

Shoving his flask at the man, "Fill her up with that Walker stuff, will ya?" He said. Dick scoffed and shook his head. "You ain't gonna pay again, are ya?"

Omero Gustav cackled madly. "Since when did I ever pay for drinks in this dump?"

Dick huffed annoyed that someone had the balls to insult such a _'fine'_ establishment. "_Earrghh_, get out of mah pub you crazy Russian." Dick scowled light-heartedly as he tossed the flask back to its rightful owner.

"Spasiba Dick." The Russian said.

As he exited the rather dimmed lit pub, his vision flared up as the sun glistened brightly. He blocked his eye with his hands, cursing colourfully in several different languages. He reached for his flask again but hesitated. 'Better not' He thought. Soon he was going to meet the future leader of the family; he had to make a good impression and what not. The fresh air on his walk would do him good; clear up any signs of his intoxication.

The first thing he realized that something was wrong was when he felt his right eye twitch. It wasn't a good sign. Suddenly on guard, he adjusted his eye-patch over his left eye and continued in a hurried pace. When he heard screams coming from the nearby intersection, he ran. 'This really isn't my day' He thought. As he ran pushing several people to the ground as they ran past him.

He surveyed the scene in front of him; the street was almost devoid of people, with a few of the shopkeepers cowering inside their shops occasionally sneaking a peek outside. There was a witch and a wizard fighting across the street to his left. To his right was some kid on the floor, transfixed by the fight between the two. He heard a feminine scream.

"DAPHNE!" The boy screamed and jumped on his feet. He looked eager yet unsure what to do.

Omero inhaled deeply. He was paralyzed by those green eyes, so much like 'Gio' back then; eyes burning with fiery determination. He glanced towards the direction of the scream. A young girl had fallen as a man advanced on her.

'Must be someone important to the boy.' He reasoned. He needed to know, he needed to see for himself that the new leader had what it takes to succeed. In one swift motion, he pulled his Beretta 92 handgun from his shoulder holster, unclicked the safety and tossed it to the boy.

"Catch!" He barked.

The boy caught it deftly in his hands and stared at the handgun in amazement.

"It's easy; point and shoot. Might wanna hurry up, he's gonna kill her." He said casually as he reached into his pocket and took out his flask and took one big swig of it. 'Let's see what you can do.' He thought as he saw the boy rush towards the girl.

*~*~*~*~*

_"STUPEFY!"_

He heard Astoria's voice rang out. A loud thud followed. Harry swivelled his head towards the voice. Astoria and an unknown man were trading spells as chaos erupted in Upper Balestrino; shoppers were screaming and were running away from the fight. He was pushed to the ground as a man had banged into him carelessly and didn't look back. He peered to the right of him. A man wearing a black suit was lying face down on the pavement, his wand dropped next to him.

He returned to stare at the fight between Astoria and the man, transfixed at how amazing a duel could between two adults. Subconsciously, he yearned to be able to duel like Astoria. His thoughts were cut out when he heard Daphne screamed.

"DAPHNE!" He screamed as he looked around wildly to find her. He quickly leapt to his feet and scanned the empty street.

'There.' He spotted her at the intersection near 'Jean-Luc's' shop. Daphne had fallen on the pavement, her face stricken with tears; seemingly pleading with the man to let her go as she pushed herself away from the man. The man continued to advance on her, Harry couldn't see the expression on his face since the man's back was facing him but he knew that it was one of sadistic pleasure. Aware that he was basically helpless in this situation, he racked his brains, desperately trying to figure out a way to save her.

"Catch!" He heard someone say.

Instinctively, he held out his right hand and caught a smooth, metallic item; his hand gripping on the handle and his index finger resting on the trigger. He stared amazed at the handgun he held in his hand.

He glanced at the man standing behind him, hewas old. He had a muscular build, a square face; his white hair was cropped but what was most eye-catching was the long scar that ran from his forehead to his left cheek and the eye-patch covering his left eye.

"It's easy, point and shoot. Might wanna hurry up, he's gonna kill-" He didn't wait to hear the man finished the sentence as he rushed towards Daphne.

He stopped a few feet away from the man, holding the handgun in both hands, aiming for his head. He noticed his hands very trembling uncontrollably, his anxiety flooding his system like a broken dam spreading to his heart, slowly creeping to his spine and limbs. Time seemed to slow down as if to perpetuate his circumstances.

_"Avada-" _The man bellowed. Daphne squeezed her eyes shut; tearing still falling down her face. From a distance, he detachedly heard Astoria scream. Harry didn't hesitate.

A sharp crack echoed on the street as the sound of gunshot carried through the silence. The serene moment of calm immediately settled on him.

_'THUD'_

The assailant's body hit the ground, eyes blank as he stared upwards; a bullet hole in his forehead. Harry realized that he was holding his breath, exhaling; his muscles suddenly felt numb and his grip loosened, making him drop the handgun as it fell to the pavement with a 'clank'.

He stumbled towards Daphne and dropped to the ground beside her, holding her face in his hands as he wiped off the splatter of blood on her cheeks, he forced her red, puffy eyes to tear away from the sight of the dead body. Unsure what to say, he said the first thing on his mind.

"Did it hurt?" He asked. Seeing as she was about to answer, he cut her off. "When you fell out of heaven." He finished lamely.

She pulled him in her arms, for a moment he stiffened and slowly relaxed into her embrace. She buried her head in his chest as she started to sob and laugh at the same time. It really was an awkward moment. "Thank you Harry." Her voice muffled against his chest. Harry begun to pat her back softly. He heard rushing footsteps; he looked up to see both Astoria and Gerard running towards them. Astoria immediately threw her arms around both them, crushing them against her chest. Harry blushed as he felt her 'feminine wiles' pressed against his head.

Scratch the thought before. This was a more awkward moment than before. Luckily, it ended a few moments later, as Daphne pulled away from him, sniffed and vigorously rubbed her puffy eyes. Harry stood up and begun to walk away from them as both Astoria and Gerard fussed over Daphne; he didn't want to intrude on a family moment.

He felt detached from the world as the full implications of his actions finally sunk in. He had killed a man in cold-blood. His breath caught in his throat and he ducked his head. He was already a murderer at ten years of age. It had been so ridiculously easy and hard at the same time. His thoughts were all jumbled up as his face held a look of disbelief and fear, he fell to the ground as his knees felt like jelly.

'Was he going to be arrested? He did kill a man.'

'Will the Greengrass even love him anymore? Nobody loved a killer.'

'Was he going to hell? He had done something so reprehensible; he had taken a life.'

A voice cut through his musings as he looked up. "You did good kid." The stranger said as he bent down to retrieve his pistol, sliding it back into a holster inside his trench coat. "Slight hesitation there at the start but-"He trailed off as he began to mumble under his breath. He suddenly jerked out of his thoughts. He knelt down so that he was at the same eye-level as Harry and patted his shoulder.

"One lesson you've learnt today, when someone threatens you or your loved ones." He paused and whispered to his ear. "Never hesitate."

Harry stared at the stranger in his eyes (well, eye) as his thoughts finally cleared up. The stranger was right, the man was about to kill Daphne and like hell he was going to let that happen. He clenched his fists as his eyes took on a fiery determination. 'Nobody was going to hurt someone I care about.'

"Guus?" Gerard's voice echoed in the street.

"Wait, you didn't-"He stopped abruptly as if to pick up the pieces. "Wait! You gave him that gun?" He shouted as he advanced on them. He looked furious. "For the love of-, he's just-"

"GERARD!" Gustav barked. "Now is neither the time nor the place to discuss this." He lowered his voice. "The 'Arma' will be soon, I don't want this to be known as an international incident. Go back to the manor and talk to Alphonso, the boys and I will handle things around here."

As soon as he finished the sentence, 'pops' of apparition could be heard as several figures appeared into the street wearing black suit and sunglasses, hurrying into several of the shops.

Gerard looked torn between berating the man in front of him for his irresponsible actions and obeying his orders. Exhaling, he bent down to pick up a rock. _"Portus,"_ He said as he pointed his wand at the rock. It glowed before going back to normal.

He motioned to the rest of them. "Grab a hold of it." As he felt the sharp jerk around his navel, Upper Balestrino disappeared.

* * *


	4. Chapter IV

A/N: Thanks for the reviews people. I've changed several errors that you guys have pointed out. Especially the accent stuff, I realized that I was laying it on pretty thick. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.

Oh, and I just checked that this story just got about two thousand hits about a day after I posted it and not to mention it flooded my email with over two hundred alerts. You sure do know how to inflate a guy's ego.

* * *

Chapter IV

December 12 1990

Rome, Italy

"_Ofmhp-_"Harry groaned as he once again fell flat on his face. He looked up to find himself in the front yard of a neo-gothic manor. 'What's with rich people and neo-gothic manors?' He thought.

"Where are we?" Daphne asked as she stretched her arms.

"Friends of mine." Gerard lied not so smoothly. Daphne looked unconvinced but just shrugged. As the quartet walked towards the entrance, they were greeted by a man with greyish-white hair.

"Al." Gerard greeted the man.

"Gerard, it is good to see you again." Alphonso said. Gerard motioned to his family.

"You already know Astoria." Astoria moved to hug the man. "It's been a long time uncle." She whispered. Alphonso chuckled weakly. "Yes, it has. It's good to see you in good health, my dear."

"And this,-"Gerard pointed to his daughter. "Is our little princess, Daphne." She blushed slightly.

Alphonso pulled her into a hug as he gave her a look-over. "Oh my!" He exclaimed. "They grow up so fast, don't they? I remembered the time I used to be able to carry you in my arms." Daphne smiled and gave him a quizzical look. "I was there when you were born, my dear." He smiled fondly as he drifted off in his own memories.

A cough interrupted his reverie. "Al, I'd like you to meet-"Gerard was cut off.

"Harry Potter." He knelt down and examined Harry closely. He smiled warmly and chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure you are all tired. Let's go inside the house and get you warmed up."

There was a long and wide hallway as they entered the manor. Alphonso guided to a door near the left of the entrance. It was a large room with antique furnishings, coats of armour and an open log fire. "Well, have a seat. I'll get the house-elves to prepare some tea." Al said cheerfully as he left the room.

There was a tense silence as he left. They had not really discussed about what had happened earlier. Daphne coughed nervously. "Potter." she said formally. Harry was slightly dejected that he had regressed from 'Harry' to 'Potter' again.

"I wish to acknowledge the life-debt that I know owe you. As such-"

"Life-debt?" Harry inquired as his face scrunched up in confusion.

"Well Harry, when one saves the life of another; they owe that person a debt." Gerard explained. "People say its old magic that must be followed. Rumours have it that if you disobey or ignore it, you'll suffer a most horrible fate; most likely one loses his or her magic."

"So, what does it mean?" Harry asked.

"It means Potter that you can request one thing, anything from me." She hissed.

Gerard coughed nervously; he was afraid that Harry would do something rash. He didn't want his daughter to suffer because of it. "Harry, I want you to think properly because any rash decisions and Daphne's whole life could be affected."

"Harry." Astoria cut in. "I'm going to be honest with you. Most _purebloods_-" She spat. "Use life-debts to bind the person as a slave or wors-"

Harry who looked like he had hardly heard anything looked shocked. "Anything?" He squeaked interrupting her before he grinned like a loon. He jumped to his feet and pointed his finger at Daphne. "Show me that book you were always reading." He said firmly. A soft inner glow surrounded his body then rushed towards Daphne, surrounding her as well. As the glow faded, Harry muttered under his breath. "That was some weird shit." The Greengrasses looked at Harry dumbfounded. "What?" He asked annoyed before looking smugly at Daphne "Well, what're you waiting for?" He drawled.

Daphne was blushing madly now. She sighed as she reached for her messenger bag and rummaged through the contents. She turned to glare at him "What you've seen here does not leave this room." She hissed before lobbing the book at him.

Harry cackled madly before reading the title, _'Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen'. _"Huh?" He asked as he showed Astoria the cover. "What in the world is this?"

Gerard continued stare at the boy in front of him. Harry had invoked old magic just to ask such a trivial question. How could he think that Harry would force Daphne to become some sort of concubine/sex slave. (He had a really wild imagination) He exhaled deeply. Then again, if he did, Gerard would just have to kill the little brat. 'Vongola be damned!' He would have laughed if it weren't for the absurdity of the situation. 'Wait.' He thought.

Gerard found himself on the floor bellowing out a deep laugh as tears spilled out of his eyes. His wife was in a similar situation as she giggled madly and finally let out a deep breath. "It's _a-_" She giggled again. "Mine, Harry. It's a romance novel."

Harry stared at Daphne, raised one eyebrow and gave her book back. "You're a weird girl, Daph." Her cheeks flushed. As she was about to retort, _'SLAM'_ the door...well slammed open.

Gustav growled as he entered. He looked mystified at the quartet and his eye followed to the adults, currently on the floor. He gave a weird look and shook his head, as he was about to exit the room, Alphonso entered. "Guus how's the situation?" He asked.

Gustav scowled. "It's not going smoothly, Al. Minister Chiellini's on our ass about it. He got the 'Arma' all riled up about the situation. He knows some tourists are involved and he wants their heads on some trumped-up murder charge. Its better play it safe, I want the three of you-"He pointed to the Greengrass. "Out of Italy by today."

"Wait, what about Harry, he's coming back home with us right?" Daphne tugged her mother's hand. "Right?" Her tone slightly desperate.

Gerard sighed and gave Astoria a meaningful look. "Sweetie, could you excuse us please?"

Daphne looked furious. "YOU NEVER TELL ME ANYTHING!" She screamed; her blue eyes sparkled with unshed tears as she ran out of the room. Astoria gave the men a firm nod and chased after her daughter.

*~*~*~*~*

She hated it. They never told her anything. They just wanted her to be some sort of trophy daughter who listened to their every whim. She felt a tear escape her eye and quickly rubbed it away. Daphne Greengrass never cried. Well, okay she did but not for such a stupid reason.

She didn't know where she was running to but she just chose a random door along the hallway and barged in, slamming the door shut in the process. She leaned against the door and slid down to the floor.

Her eyes widen in surprise as she looked around the room. She looked to be in a kitchen and there was another person inside. Her cheeks tinged slightly; embarrassed by her actions.

The boy, who was in the process of cutting some vegetables yelped; startled by her sudden entrance and dropped the knife he was holding. He winced as it sliced his thumb; cradling it in his other hand; he put it in his mouth and began sucking the blood out. Daphne cringed as she realized that it was her fault. "Sorry." She said hastily. The boy looked roughly the same age as her. He had sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. He looked rather…'Cute.' she thought.

"Lo non di fare alcun caso a." He smiled warmly at her and walked towards her.

"Buongiorno." He said. Daphne gave him a quizzical look and shook her head; saying the only phrase she learned during this vacation. "Mi dispiace. Non parlo Italiano, parla Inglese?"

"Sorry, it's just that everyone here at the manor speaks Italian." He said with a slight accent. "It's been a while since I spoke English."

"Fernando Del Toro." He introduced himself and held out his uninjured hand.

"Daphne Greengrass." She said.

She heard her mother's voice on the other side of the door as she knocked lightly. "Can we talk?" Daphne sighed and moved away from the door. "Come in." As her mother entered, Fernando smiled and bowed to the both of them. "If you'll excuse me, I'll leave you to your conversation."

"Daphne?" Her mother said as she sat down next to her. She refused to look at her and continue staring at her feet. "I'm sure you have some idea about your father's line of work?" Daphne nodded. "You know how your father is; always thinking he's doing something noble by not letting you know certain things."

She snorted. "Stupid idiot." Daphne muttered under her breath.

Her mother chuckled. "Yeah, that sounds like him alright."

There was a slight pause in the conversation. "It's just that he thinks he's doing what's best for you sweetie. I do agree with him; I don't want my daughter to be involved in such things when she's so young."

Daphne raised her eyebrows. "Oh? What about when I'm older?"

"Give me grandkids, and then we'll talk." She grumbled. She looked at Daphne in the eyes. "You okay now?"

"Yeah, I'm not really mad; just needed to blow off some steam." Daphne smiled a bit before she turned serious. "What's going to happen to Harry?"

Her mother's face fell. "He's going to stay in Rome since he can't go back to England once Dumbledore finds out he left the Dursleys."

"What!? How long is he going to stay here?"

Her mother sighed. "He'll stay until he becomes of age in the Wizarding World."

Daphne huffed. "He knew didn't he? He knew and he never told me. That little-" She drifted off as she made choking gestures with her hands. "That's why he thought he was going to attend _'San Siro'_, wasn't it?" She paused. "And from that look mother, it looks as if you're telling me we can't stay here." Seeing a nod she sighed.

"Your father told me he was going to undergo 'training', whatever that's supposed to mean. It looks like they're going to isolate him from the outside world; meaning they're going to prevent us from contacting him."

Both mother and daughter sighed. Sharing a look with her mother, Daphne echoed her thoughts as she said the first thing on their minds.

"This sucks."

*~*~*~*~*

"She's not stupid you know? I'm pretty sure she knows what's going on." Harry said as he set his tea cup back on the tray. "I mean it's not my place to say what you tell your daughter but she will feel rather left out."

"I am well aware that my daughter is an intelligent girl, Harry." Gerard retorted hotly. "Good genes and all." He raised an eyebrow and brushed his knuckles on his shirt before exhaling deeply. "It's just better that she not be told about it, I'd rather she lived in ignorance of my line of work."

Harry nodded. "So, what are we going to talk about?"

Alphonso cleared his throat."It is a rather long and complicated story young master. I'm not sure where to begin."

"The beginning would be nice."

"Yes, well, The Vongola family has been in Italy since the late 10th century. I will not bore you the details of everything that occurred over those thousand years but sufficient to say we've had a violent and bloody history. Over those years, we've established footholds in several other countries; hence, we have allies with several other families and organizations around the world. It was our first leader, Giotto the 'Vongola Primo' (I) that established the family and ever since then, we've had a reputation of being one of the most powerful Wizarding Mafia family in the world." He smiled wistfully. "They say he was a great man. He was known to have an unorthodox family as he accepted anyone he liked. There were tales of how he accepted kings, military leaders and even rival Mafia members."

"It was said that those who inherit the Vongola bloodline have certain traits; one of the most common trait is their green eyes. Now, I'm sure you are wondering how you are related to the Vongola family?" Seeing Harry nod, he continued.

"About seventy years ago; during the ending reign of 'Vongola X', his brother; Enzo Vongola fled from Italy. No one knows why he did it but rumours have it that he was afraid that he had to take over the family. Our records show that Enzo fled to Muggle Britain under the name of Jonathan Evans. In 1950, he married one Emma Thompson; a muggle. In 1960, she gave birth to Lily Marie Evans. Sadly, Enzo died in 1976 due to a raid by dark wizards." Alphonso paused dramatically. "Yes young master, Enzo was your grandfather."

Harry scoffed. "I can see that. Pretty bloody obvious." He grumbled under his breath. "Why exactly did you choose me? You could have chosen Dudley." He asked.

"That's true but Petunia Evans is not a blood relative. It seems that Petunia was in fact adopted in 1958 after the deaths of her parents in a tragic car accident. Her biological parents were cousins of your grandmother and she was asked to care for Petunia in the likelihood of their deaths. Technically, Dudley does not have any Vongola blood." Alphonso said.

Harry turned towards Gerard. "I thought you said my mother was muggle-born?"

It was Alphonso who answered. "I can only speculate that Enzo had completely abandoned magic by the time he fled to Britain. He lived the life of a muggle and when your mother, Lily received her letter to Hogwarts; he refused to acknowledge his past."

"Okay, that clears things up I suppose. Enough with the history lesson, what are you going to do with me since I can't return to England? Do I get to go to _'San Siro'_?" Harry asked excitedly.

"No, you're not going there, kid. We're gonna train you personally, you need the experience. We can't have our leader acting like a wimp." Gustav's voice cut in as he eyed Harry distastefully. "And a short one at that." He grumbled under his breath.

Harry twitched madly. "I'm ten." He hissed. "Anyway how are you going to mould me into this super-Mafia leader? I don't exactly condone killing innocent people."

Alphonso winced. "Young master. The Mafia isn't all about killing people." He chuckled nervously. "You have a very vague and stereotypical view about our organization. In fact, we help the community."

Harry gave him a disbelieving look and snorted.

"For the past 500 years, there has been little to no crime rate in the streets of Rome. In fact, the only crimes are those committed by rival families gaining for new territories outside Rome. We protect our investments, young master."He turned serious. "In exchange for a moderate sum of money, we help our businesses strive and protect them by constructing wards and offer round-the-clock protection." He paused. "I'm sure you noticed our men arriving at Upper Balestrino just now?" Seeing Harry nod, he continued.

"Well, did you realize we came before our 'friends' in the ministry? By the time the 'Arma' arrived, we were done repairing the shops and gone before we were noticed."

"Arma?" Harry inquired.

"That's the magical police, Harry or like the Aurors I told you about back in Britain." Gerard said.

"Okay then, what about the other stuff? Like Trafficking? Drugs? Prostitu-" He challenged.

"Do you know why 'Vongola Primo' started this family?" Alphonso cut in with a steely look in his eyes. "He wanted to help his family who were living in poverty. While we may engage in some rather unsavoury activities, 'Primo' did have a conscience and a heart. He was fair to the people since he came from the same background. He swore never to do any business that might hurt the community around him. Like all our leaders, they shared the same principles. For example, during 'Vongola X', he banned our family from trafficking drugs even though it would bring more wealth to the family. While we may not be able to fully plug the trafficking of drugs in Rome, I am sure that we live in a better place because of our intervention."

Harry was silent as he pondered what was just said. "What happened to the previous leader?" The mood of the three occupants dropped.

"Ah yes, Giovanni." Alphonso said wistfully. "He was a good man; always putting others before him." He mumbled. "He was assassinated about fifteen years ago, young master by one of our closest rivals, the Rossi crime syndicate based in Naples. As a result, our family lost a substantial amount of its influence as we were left without a leader for fifteen years. A lot of our allies had chose to break ties with us but a small few still remain loyal to us; hoping that we could find a new leader." Alphonso said as he shared a meaningful look with Harry.

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. "Don't worry about it, I'm not going to refuse. Back then, I've already accepted the fact that you guys are not taking a _'no'_ for an answer. Besides, if I refuse, I'll have to go back to Dursley; probably forgetting this whole incident if this Albus Dumbledore is like anything Gerard said."

He saw Gustav scowl when he mentioned Dumbledore. "You don't like him?" All he got as a reply was one long growl.

"What's going to happen now?" He asked.

"Well first, you and your family, Gerard; are going to have to leave now." Gustav growled. "The minister's looking into this Balestrino incident and I rather not you be here while they're investigating." He tossed a book to Gerard. "Here, a portkey to IPS. Go and find your family. We'll send one of the boys to get your things in the hotel. "

As Gerard stood to leave, Harry asked Alphonso. "Can I at least say goodbye?" It was more of a statement than a question. Seeing a nod, he followed Gerard out of the room.

In the hallway, Gerard paused and knelt on the floor facing Harry. "I didn't get to thank you for what you did Harry. If it wasn't for you, my little girl could have-"He sniffed. " And I know you could have asked anything of her and she could have been your sex slave/concubi-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Gerard. I'm ten years old; I don't think of things like that…yet. Besides someone once told me that the chase was the best part of any relationship." He scrunched up his face in thought. "Oh no, that was a documentary about capturing wild anima-" His words were muffled as Gerard pulled Harry into a tight hug.

"Thank you." He whispered. "I know we won't be able to see you again until you reach seventeen but when you do, maybe you could drop by Britain for us?" He chuckled. "You know how the girls are, without you, they're gonna make me go shopping with them."

Harry swiped a tear that fell from his cheeks. "Sure but I'll have to check my schedule, you know, being the future leader of one of the most powerful Mafia organization tends to make you pretty busy."

Both tried to lighten the mood before their emotions almost got the better of them. An awkward silence followed before Gerard in an attempt to maintain his macho-guy façade, slapped Harry in the back. "Let's go find those girls, eh pardner?" He said with a western slur. (Apparently Gerard equated cowboys to being macho.)

*~*~*~*~*

Gustav watched as they left the room, before taking out his wand and casting several privacy & silencing charms on the room. "Well?" Alphonso drawled.

"That minister's really getting on my nerves, Al. Can't we just _'pop'_ em?" Gustav asked.

"No, while he may be a nuisance, he does not have any real power over us and he is pretty meek." Al laughed. "It's better he stay in power lest someone else take his place before we return to full power. What did you find out?"

"A LEAK!" Gustav half-snarled and shouted. "I _'asked'_-"He cackled menacingly. "One of those idiots that your niece managed to stun, apparently the Rossi's already found out about the heir and already planned on assassinating him. I'm getting pretty close to find out the rat too."

"Hmm. This is bad. We should get the elite guards on standby if he were to go outside again. Maybe get someone to shadow him." Alphonso mused out loud. "Maybe Anna."

"That metamorphmagus girl?" Gustav asked. "That could work but are you sure? That kid is pretty out of it." He paused. "You thinking about who's going to be 'Number Two'? That Del Toro kid seems to have talent. He could follow in the footsteps of his father, what with his fixation with knive-."

"Maybe Guus we are thinking too far ahead; after all Harry hasn't met anybody here except for us." Alphonso cut in.

"Fine." Gustav grumbled as he stood up and proceeded to dispel the various charms in the room. "I'm going to follow up on that lead."

*~*~*~*~*

"Sorry, I guess this is goodbye, _huh_?" Harry said lamely as he stared at the Greengrass family. He heard Daphne snort. "Please Potter, do not start blubbering on us."

As it were, it wasn't Harry who started blubbering but Astoria as she crushed in his her arms. "I'm going to miss you dear. Be sure to come back." She whispered and kissed his forehead. Harry blushed slightly and smiled. "Sure Astoria. I mean I wouldn't want to miss Daphne's sharp wit and all."

"Whatever Potter, it'll be a lot less chaotic at home without you around shouting _'SOULMATES'_." She said with a high-pitched voice.

"_Awww,_" Harry said before he flung his arms around her shoulders. "I know you're going to miss me in your own special witty and sarcastic way." He pretended to sniff and tighten the hug as he felt Daphne squirming out of it. "Don't worry, before you know it, I'll come back and be at my rightful place; 'RIGHT NEXT TO YOU'." He wailed into her ears.

"GET OFF ME POTTER!" She screamed. Harry winced as he let go and faced Gerard who looked on the scene with amusement. "She's going through the denial stage. Poor girl, you should get her some therapy sessions." Daphne looked torn between yelling at him some more and something he didn't really understand. In the end, she just stood there and glared at him with a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Remember not one word about that book Potter." She hissed. Harry just smiled cheekily.

He watched as the family crowd around the book. With one last "Goodbye.", they disappeared. He felt that sense of yearning as they left; He wanted to talk and be with them again. It had become a sense of normalcy when he was with them but now he felt incomplete.

'Where is the good in goodbye?' He shook his head. 'When did he become so, so…deep?' He mused. He couldn't dwell on the negative; sure he had another seven or so more years before he saw them again. He tried to think of some positive aspects so that he wouldn't fall into a pit of despair.

'I hope I'll be taller then.'

"Hi." A voice cut in, disrupting his mental image of _'Harry Potter; age seventeen with tall, ripping muscles'_. "I couldn't help but notice they left." A boy with sandy blond hair and hazel eyes said.

"Fernando Del Toro." The boy introduced himself.

"Harry Potter." Harry answered.

The boy's eyebrows rose. "Really?" He drawled. An awkward silence ensued. "Well, Harry do you er- like football?" He asked. Harry immediately brightened and his eyes sparkled. Putting his hand around Fernando's taller frame, 'Damn my height.' He cursed inwardly but smiled. "Fernando my friend, this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship."

*~*~*~*~*

December 13 1990

Camden, England

By the time Daphne reached the Greengrass manor, it was already half-past midnight. The journey home had been silent and a bit tense. Daphne gave a fake big yawn and she smiled sheepishly. "I'm tired, so I think I'll just head to bed."

She proceeded to hug her parents. "Father, I'm sorry about shouting at you just now." Her voice muffled as she hugged her father. "Me too, sweetheart. Me too."

With that, she climbed the staircase to her room, preferring the solitariness her room provided. As she lay on her bed, her thoughts wondered to what had occurred in the past few days in Italy. She had witness that man killed before her; those lifeless eyes staring up at the sky. It should have scared her but strangely it didn't. If not, the situation could have been the reverse; it could have been her lifeless eyes staring up at the sky, dead from the killing curse.

'Rather him than me.' She thought bitterly.

Her thoughts wandered back to Harry. She wondered how he felt; He had killed a man for her. Back then, his eyes were burning with fiery determination as he protected her and the way he attempted to lighten the mood; corny yes but it worked. Now, she found a new sense of admiration when she thought about Harry; not that she'd ever admit it out loud.

Before, she left that manor in Rome, she had almost hugged him. Almost being the keyword; she did have a reputation to uphold even if only Harry knew about it but a reputation nonetheless. It's not as if he wouldn't come back.

'Seven short years.' she told herself firmly. It would be just seven years before she'd meet her first real friend again. She squeezed her eyes shut and hoped that the sweet embrace of sleep would consume her.

* * *

A/N: I know it seems corny and what not with the life-debt but I can't really think of any other ideas than that. Anyway, some of you have pointed out cliches about Harry Potter fics. Anything I should know to avoid because I don't really know a lot of it. With the exceptions of;

'_JustgetinheritanceBetrayedandGetalotofGirlsasSlavesWivesandOnenightstandHarry!_' or

_'GetsridiculouslystrongandProceedstoruinamanwithover160yearsofknowledgeandHisworthlessunderlingintheOrderoftheFriedChickenHarry!'_

Anyway, that's all I could think of at the top of my head. Oh and if you're wondering about the direction of this story, I'm thinking of doing a triwizard but don't really have any ideas how to go about it. So if you have any ideas or suggestions about different tasks or anything, could you help? Or maybe tell me about other fics that are doing triwizard so I can get some muse going.

Still please review. (Honestly, I crave the approval of thirteen year olds with sharp wit...)


	5. Chapter V

A/N: For your viewing pleasure, the fifth chapter.

* * *

Chapter V

December 13 1990

Rome, Italy

They were in the kitchen as Harry watched Fernando cut several onions skilfully. It had been an unofficial hangout spot for the both of them since Fernando liked to spend so much time here helping the elves cook.

"Why exactly are you cutting the onions? I mean I'm sure the house-elves can manage fine by themselves?" Harry looked around as all the house-elves suddenly stopped and turned their heads towards Fernando in unison. 'That's creepy.' He shuddered.

Fernando oblivious to his surroundings continued cutting until one house-elf tugged at his shirt. "Young master Fernando stop chopping? Binky chop now?" He asked reverently.

"No, no I'm fine. I want to help." He chuckled weakly and the amassed contingent of house-elves returned to their duties. Fernando twirled the knife in his hand and stabbed it onto the chopping board letting it stand upright. Harry was slightly terrified of Fernando, even only knowing him for a day; he realized that Fernando had a creepy fixation with knives.

"Yeah, they can manage but I want to help out around the manor." He chuckled weakly and rubbed his arms. "I kinda feel like a burden around here, you know? It's like all I do is sit around, eat, sleep and play." He smiled wistfully. "Uncle Al was nice enough to raise me up here when my parents died. I was seven back then when my parents-." He ended with a hiss and gripped the knife's handle. He exhaled deeply. "Sorry about that. I'm sure you don't want to hear about them."

"I mean if you want to talk about it, I'll listen." Harry said. A tense silence descended between the two boys. It was Fernando who broke it after a few seconds.

"Okay well, my dad was actually from Spain. He migrated here after he was recruited by our previous leader, 'Vongola XII'. They used to call him Xavi 'Coltelli' Del Toro." Seeing a confused look from Harry, he clarified. "Coltelli means knives in Italian. You know we do need to work on your Italian; seeing as you are staying here now." He added. "Anyway, that was when he met my mum, Elena Ferrera. Well, long story short, they fell in love and had me."

He went on in detail as he described his parents, the happy memories he remembered when he was young; how his dad had shown him his prized collection of knives or how his mum would always bring him aside to teach him play the piano and remarked that it was a _'better way to spend your time than stare at sharp, pointy objects.'_ He chuckled at the memory before he took on a sombre expression. "Dad was one of the Council members so when 'Vongola XII' died and Uncle Al took over, he took on a lot more responsibility. About three years ago, the Rossi's decided to assassinate several of the Council members in an effort to destabilize the family."

"Twenty of them, twenty of those Rossi _'segaiolo_' came to attack our house just to kill one man. Dad managed to take out sixteen of them, mum took out another two but it wasn't enough. They killed them and almost killed me if it wasn't for Uncle Al."

Fernando paused as he swiped away a tear. "Anyway, that's when Uncle Al took me here and I've been here ever since. He may not be my real uncle but he still treats me like family. So when you ask why I'm cutting onions, it's because I want to give something back to this family who already gave me so much. But I can't do much as a kid so I thought of the only work I could do that involves knives." He snickered, lightening the tense mood. "It took a lot of effort to persuade the house-elves to let me do this. I think I took Binky's job."

Seeing a pause in their conversation, Fernando asked. "So Harry, what's your story? I mean it's not everybody you are in the same kitchen as the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. Not only that but in a supposedly secret hideout of one of the most powerful Wizarding Mafia family in the world. But you know one of the boys said that they found out the-"Fernando trailed off and turned white as a sheet as he continued to stare at Harry.

"Mate, you all right? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"Green eyes." Fernando mumbled.

He shot straight to the ground in front of Harry, kneeling on one knee and ducked his head down. "My l-lordd." He stuttered. "I apologize for my informal actions. Had I known that-"

"Fernando, wait." Harry cut in and sighed deeply. "Let me savour this moment." He said as he drifted off.

"_Er-_, my lord?"

That seemed to pull him back. "Minion, it is not every day that I am taller than someone my own age. So please; a moment of silence." He drifted off again.

"Yeah, you are kinda short for our age." Fernando chuckled. Harry gasped."You dare insult your lord and future leader of one of the most powerful Mafia-" He trailed off. "Damn, I forget how the rest of it goes." Harry said as he chewed on his finger. "I suppose I owe you my story anyway. Grab a seat because this one is rather long."

And so Harry recounted his extraordinary journey which spanned from England to Italy, complete with wild hand-gestures, cool karate moves and funny voices.

"_Wow-_" Fernando breathed. "A girl, huh?"

"Don't even think about it, Del Toro. She's mine." He growled. "Not yet but pretty darn close."

"Fine, fine Harry. That **was** a long story; mine only took about fifteen minutes." He checked his watch. "By the way has anyone told you that you're a weird kid?"

Harry scoffed. "Says the boy with the knife fetish."

"It's not a fetish, more like a hobby." Fernando retorted hotly.

"I tell you a tale involving the tragic woes of a young boy as he suffered abuse, found comfort in the arms of another, travelled half-way round the world, killed a man in cold blood and discovered that said boy is in fact the next leader of a Wizarding Mafia family and all you ask about is my dear, sweet Daphne?"

"Yeah." Fernando replied nonchalantly.

Harry looked at the boy in disbelief. "I killed a man! Don't you find that the least bit repulsive?"

Fernando deadpanned. "When you're in the business for so long as I am, you get desensitized to violence and all that."

Harry scowled at him. "Right Fernando, I forgot you're a total badass right?"

A cough interrupted their quarrel. "Am I interrupting something?" Alphonso asked.

"Yes." They both turned to Alphonso and said in unison. And glared at each other in unison. And scowled at each other in unison.

"Damnit" "Goddamnit" Came two separate voices.

Alphonso laughed. "Yes, well I'd hate to break this up but, Harry we have a lot of things to do." Fernando smiled sheepishly. "Uh, sorry Uncle Al. I'll leave you two to your business." As he tried to leave the room, Alphonso stopped him. "Oh, I believe Guus is looking for you, Fernando. Why don't you try to find him?" He nodded and left the room.

"So, what are we going to do?" Harry asked excitedly.

"Yes, young master. If you'd just follow me, it will all be explained in another room." Harry followed Alphonso through the long hallways of the manor. He had not been able to explore all of it since he arrived here yesterday; it was just that big. As he entered the room Alphonso guided him to, he paled. He turned towards Alphonso. "What is the meaning of this?" He exclaimed. Inside the room was a man holding a measuring tape as he stood before a full length mirror.

"We need to get you a tailored suit, young master." He scoffed. "We need to have our leader to look presentable. It's time I told you that the Vongolas do everything in a suit._ E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g._" He explained. "With the exception of Gustav." He added under his breath.

"I'm ten!" He argued.

"Yes well, it's better to start early. If it helps, Fernando would have to do it too." Alphonso said. Harry merely raised an eyebrow.

"You do want him to work for you, yes?" Alphonso clarified. "It's been his dream to serve this family ever since he became an orphan. He feels it is the proper way to repay his thanks and from the way he said it back then, I'm sure he won't change his mind about it."

Harry merely nodded and sighed. "Let's just finish this quickly."

"Good, after this we can get your wands." Alphonso said.

Harry immediately brightened. "Wands?" He asked giddily. "Okay, let's go on with it."

*~*~*~*~*

Fernando walked through the silent halls of the manor. He had asked one of the boys in the 'rec room' about Gustav; they said he was waiting in the dungeons. He shuddered. It was not a good sign when he was down there, which probably means he was probably torturing someone.

'Why had Gustav asked for me?' He wondered. Fernando steadied his nerves as he approached the _'Crazy Russian'_. "You asked for me?" He was surprised that his voice did not tremble.

"Yes. I believe you have met our new lord?" Gustav answered without turning to face Fernando. "What do you think of him?"

Fernando was nervous; Gustav rarely asked such questions. Any slip and he would be _'sleeping with the grindylows'_. "He's nice-" Fernando suddenly blurted out. "I m-eann-"He stammered.

"Do you think he can run this family? He doesn't look like he can handle it." Gustav cut in. "The boy does looks like a wimp." Gustav cackled madly.

Fernando suppressed the burst of anger he felt towards Gustav, his voice suddenly serious. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, he shows no remorse when he killed that Rossi scum to protect his loved ones. From what I've seen sir, he's no wimp." He paused. "And I would appreciate it **sir**, if you do not insult our lord or there **will** be consequences."

"You dare to threaten me? Do you know I kill you in several different ways before you can even shout for 'help'?" Gustav snarled menacingly and advanced towards him.

"Try it, old man." Fernando hissed before swiftly pulling out a switchblade and stepped back into a defensive stance. Fernando was nervous; 'Oh god I'm going to die.' He thought. 'I haven't even hit puberty yet.' But he didn't expect Gustav to suddenly smile.

"Good." He said. "You didn't back down even in the face of death. You showed loyalty to the family even though I can snap your neck like a twig." He paused. "That the blade your father gave you?"

Fernando nodded, lowering his guard. "Yeah, it was a Christmas present when I was six." He watched as Gustav pulled a black sheath from within his trench coat. He idly wondered whether Gustav even washed that coat.

Gustav tossed it to him and he caught it deftly with one hand. He examined the sheath carefully. It was a _'tanto'_. (Japanese dagger) Reverently, he pulled the dagger from the sheath and watched as it gleamed against the fire in the dungeons. It was beautiful due to its simplicity; there were no special marking on it. It reminded him a lot of his father's style.

_'No fancy stuff, as long as it's sharp.'_ Fernando echoed his father's words.

"Your dad gave that to me shortly before he died. Said that I needed it." Gustav snorted. "Not likely, so I'll give it to you since you need it more than I do. I know that his collection was lost in the fire and I also know what you did that night." Fernando paled.

"Don't worry about it, Al only told me in strict confidence that I would not discuss it with someone else. No need to sugar-coat it; you killed those two other goons because they killed your parents. Al told me he found you outside of the burning house with a bloody switchblade, standing over their bodies." Gustav paused.

Fernando was slightly ashamed that he had lied to Harry when he told him about his past but that was a chapter in his life that he didn't want anyone to know.

"Al was afraid that your need for revenge would consume you if you didn't kill the rat that snitched on us." He smiled creepily. "It is lucky that I found him then."

Fernando's head shot up. "You found the leak?"

Gustav nodded. "Yeah, found the rat who sold us out to the Rossi. Because of _him-_"He nodded his head towards a door behind him. "We lost two good people not to mention that he was also the one who told them about our the heir, leading to the failed assassination. Al has decided that his fate is in your hands. Personally, I want to see it as your resolve towards the family." Gustav said. "I know you'll make th-"

Fernando didn't bother to wait for him to finish as he immediately barged into the room. A badly-bruised and beaten man was tied to a chair. Fernando vaguely remembered him as one of the 'soldiers' who worked under his father.

"Kid, wait, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn-"The man's next words were cut off by his gurgles as Fernando plunged the knife into his heart. He watched in morbid fascination as the life left the man's eyes and he let out one final breath. He hardly realized that the man's blood was all over his clothes.

He walked out of the room in a daze. _"Scourgify,"_ He heard Gustav say. "How do you feel?"

Fernando deadpanned. "Better."

Gustav watched the boy before him. 'Ruthless.' He thought. "Just remember kid; _'Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering'_."

Fernando looked at him strangely. "Wasn't that from Star Wars? Running out of material?" He smirked at the scowling Russian.

"Just because it's from a movie doesn't make it any less true. Now go on, Al is expecting you to be fitted. Second floor, third door from the stairs."

"Uh-m, what about the rat?" Fernando asked.

"You just leave that to me, now go already." Gustav watched as the boy scurried out of the dungeon. "You're a made man kid." He whispered.

*~*~*~*~*

"Hey mate, where have you been? You were gone like twenty minutes." Harry asked as he stared at the reflection of his friend in the mirror.

Fernando smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that Gustav wanted to give me something." He paused and pulled out a sheath. "It used to belong to my dad. It's a_ 'tanto'_, a Japanese dagger."

"Neat." Harry said. "Listen if we hurry up with this stupid suit, we can go get our wands." The tailor clacked his tongue and looked at Harry distastefully.

"Fine, you're done." The tailor grumbled. "Next." He called out. Harry merely smiled cheekily as he jumped off the stool and muttered under his breath. "Finally." After fifteen minutes, the tailor was done taking Fernando's measurements.

Before they left, Alphonso added. "As for our agreement, we'll have _to-_"

"Yes, yes I know." The tailor cut in.

"Excellent." Alphonso said and looked at the boys. "Now, let's go get your wands." He led them to the room right next door, inside there was a rather heavy-set man sitting on a chair. His white hair and beard was frizzled and looked like it hadn't been washed for years. The man was wearing a permanent scowl on his face.

"Finally." He growled. "I 'ave been waiting for almost an 'our, do you think I 'ave nothing better to do?"

"Right, I apologize." Alphonso said. "This charming man here is Alessandro Da Vinci, wandcrafter." If it was possible, the man's scowl deepened.

"I am not here to make small talk, Alphonso. I am here because it eez an **honour **for me to craft ze wand for the next Vongola leader like my ancestors did." He finished with a mock bow.

"Wait? Da Vinci? As in Leonardo Da Vinci?" Harry asked.

"Ze boy eez **sharp**, Alphonso. ze Vongolas shall **prosper**." He said with a sneer.

"Sheesh, I was only asking. You're a very bitter person, you know that?" Harry asked bitterly.

"Enough of this." The man growled. He proceeded to pull out several items and laid them on the table. "Blondie, you first." He pointed to Fernando. "Wand hand?" He asked.

"Right." He fixed a stare at Fernando and sighed. "Now, close your eyes and feel out which type of wood eez suitable for you." Da Vinci said in a bored tone.

Fernando did as he was told and after a few moments of silence he spoke up. "This one." He pointed to a light-coloured piece of wood.

Da Vinci nodded and picked it up. "Now do ze same for your core." He continued in that annoyingly bored tone.

"This one." Fernando chose after a few minutes. Da Vinci merely raised an eyebrow at Fernando. "Thestral hair un Rosewood. 'Ow very odd" He remarked. "They say zat it was ze same core as ze one used by Gellert Grindelwald." Fernando looked at him strangely. "Eet shall be a great wand." He said proudly. "Vongola, 'your turn." He snapped.

"Aren't you going to ask me which one is my wand hand?" Harry asked the surly man. Da Vinci merely scowled at him and glared at Alphonso. "Eez ze boy ignorant' of his own heritage?"

"Young master, traditional dictates that all Vongola leaders have two wands since they were taught to be proficient dual-casting. And since dual-casting is a rather hard skill to achieve, your wand will be a bit unorthodox." Alphonso explained. "Back then, 'Vongola I' was one of the few wizards to attempt to master dual-casting. Others disregard the skill since it is considered impossible to learn. Now, one of the theories behind dual-casting is that; you must have two exact wands. However, Primo was a _'bit'_ poor and he could only afford to buy the wood, not the core. Therefore, he created his own wand, using his own blood as the core for his wands. Ever since then, all Vongola leaders have been using blood wands."

"Fine." Harry said before he copied Fernando's actions. The silence stretched on for almost ten minutes before Da Vinci grumbled under his breath. "What eez taking ze boy so long?"

That was when Harry spoke up. "Uhm, what does it mean when you feel that two woods are suitable?"

"Uncommon 'but not unheard of." Da Vinci answered. "Well, which ones?" Harry pointed out the two woods to him.

"_Hmmm,_ Ash un Black Limba. Very strange, Vongola but ze power of your wand depends on your blood."

Da Vinci pulled out a dagger and two small flasks. "Ritual dagger. Cut both your wrists un let ze blood drip into ze flasks."

Harry winced as he slit his wrists, he felt like he was committing suicide. Feeling a bit light-headed, he allowed Alphonso to heal the cuts on his wrists. He watched as Da Vinci dumped all the items in his bag. He pulled out a flask with a yellow liquid inside and tossed it to Harry.

"Blood-replenishing potion." He said gruffly.

"I believe my work here eez done, your wands will be complete within an hour." He gave Alphonso a slight nod. "If your goons will escort me to an unused room?"

Alphonso just smiled politely. "Yes, my people are waiting outside at the moment." As Da Vinci swept out of the room without acknowledging the two boys, Harry asked. "What's crawl up and died in his arse?"

"A stick?" Fernando answered. The two promptly fell into a bout of laughter. "Okay now boys, enough joking around. Next is the most important meeting, we are going to introduce you to the Council.

"What?" Harry squeaked.

"It will be a meeting to discuss the future of our family and about your 'rite-of-passage'." He said as he pulled a reluctant Harry to the meeting room. Upon reaching the room, Alphonso said. "Fernando, if you'll kindly wait outside." Fernando nodded and watched amused as Harry tried to squirm out of his Uncle Al's grip.

*~*~*~*~*

"MY LORD." The men seated around the long table stood up and said in unison. Harry was seated at the end of the table, looking like a nervous wreck. How could they expect to let a ten year old make decisions for the Mafia.

Across the table, Alphonso smiled warmly. "Young master, you do not need to look so nervous. We are here merely to discuss our decisions with you."

"Okay...what decisions exactly?" Harry asked.

"Well, the Council has decided to appoint Fernando Del Toro as your underboss of the family. We believe that he will be a tremendous asset to the family especially if he were to undergo the same training as you." Alphonso paused and fixed a stare at Harry. "Is this to your liking?"

"Hell yeah." Harry said, excited that he wouldn't have to suffer alone to whatever this 'rite-of-passage' meant; but it was clear that he wouldn't like it. The Council merely chuckled at his enthusiasm. "What exactly does this 'rite of passage' mean?"

One of the Council members stood up and bowed before speaking. "Eet can be said as training for you, my lord. Since ze motto of ze Vongola family is _'He who conquers everything under ze sky'_, you will get to train around ze world to further your knowledge."

"Yes young master, you will have Guus to aid you during your travels. Think of him as a mentor of sorts." Alphonso added. Next to him, Gustav cackled madly while the collective members flinched in unison.

'That is not a good sign.' Harry thought worriedly. "Anything else to discuss?" He asked.

"Yes young master, when you eventually take over the family once you reach of age; the first thing you must do is create your own Council. I am sure that during your travels, you will meet certain individuals that might catch your eye." Alphonso winked at him.

"But can't you guys just continue on with your positions? You're all obviously doing a good job with running the family." Most of the Council members blushed at his praise.

"We are honoured zat you think so highly of us, my lord but we are 'Vongola XII's Council, not yours. In every generation, ze Vongola leader shall select individuals to make up an inner circle; the Council as we call it." Another member explained.

"One of the responsibilities of the Council is to act as the family's temporary head in the event that we are without a leader; like now for instance." Alphonso explained. "Therefore, we will help to run the family in your absence until you ready to take over. Do you understand, Harry?" Harry nodded. "Good. Now let us proceed to the final agenda; the initiation."

"_Whoa, whoa_. What initiation? You didn't tell me about this just now." Harry said.

"_Oops_, must have slipped my mind young master." Alphonso said unconvincingly. "Nothing much really. As tradition dictates in the Vongola family; the next leader of the Vongola family will have to be marked."

Harry sighed desperately. "Who keeps coming up with these crazy traditions? Is there a book I can read or something?"

"No, not really. It could be inside the family vault or something but you have to be of age to access it." Alphonso answered.

"Fine." Harry grumbled under his breath. "So how is this marking done?"

"Well, back then, they used to brand roman numerals on the skin to indicate the generation of Vongola leader. In your case, it will be thirteen or (XIII)." Alphonso paused. "So where do you want it?" He asked almost too cheerfully.

"You're going to brand me like some farm-yard animal?" Harry squeaked.

"Well, no. What with the advancement of spells over a thousand years, it will be more like a tattoo."

"If I had a mum, she would be pretty against this idea but then again, she died. So, just put it on the back of my hand." Harry said.

After a few shrieks of pain accompanied by raucous laughter, Harry examined his new 'mark'. It was sort of nice but he decided that he wasn't really the tattoo kind-of-person besides, it really itches. Alphonso's voice cut through his musings.

"I believe that this ends our meeting. For some of you, this will be the last time you will see the young master here whereas some of you-"He looked pointedly at Gustav. "Will get to see him every day."

"Joy..." Gustav muttered. Harry ignored his barb and proceeded to bid farewell to the other Council members. As they left the room, Alphonso said. "I believe that your wands will be ready by now. Would you like to accompany us, Guus?"

"Sure, why not? I'll start the brats' training immediately after." Harry didn't know whether to be happy or sad with his statement. Fernando rejoined the group as they headed to meet the surly wandcrafter again. Reaching the room, they were met with two guards who stood outside the door. Receiving a nod from Alphonso, they knocked on the door.

"Come in." Came Da Vinci's gruff reply.

"Ah yes, ze wands are completed. Please send ze fee to my Gringotts' account, Alphonso."

"Wait, aren't you going to stay?" Harry inquired.

"That Vongola, would insinuate that I am interested in watching which I am not. My wands are of ze highest calibre, they will work perfectly." A pause. "Now if you please escort me out of ze premise, Alphonso?" Da Vinci asked.

"Of course, this way Alessandro." Soon, they left the rooms leaving the three of them behind. "Jerk." Harry muttered.

"Forget about him, Harry." Fernando said as he bounced towards the table and inspected the two boxes. "I suppose this is yours." He pointed towards the bigger box.

Harry giddily opened his box and marvelled at the two wands inside the box. They were grey with golden markings. The markings twirled around the wands like tribal patterns. As he held them in both hands, he felt a sudden rush of power enter his body. He felt intoxicated and let out a moan. The air around him crackled with magical energy for a few seconds before it died down.

"Hmmm, blood wands." Gustav muttered as he inspected the wands. "Black limba and Ash, ten and a half inch. Not sure much about these wands because it depends on the caster's own affinity towards certain fields of magic."

Gustav was cut off by a moan from Fernando. "This is better than sex!" Fernando exclaimed.

"You haven't had sex you idiot." Harry shot back.

"Whatever, just let me enjoy it for a while Harry."

Gustav moved towards Fernando and examined his wand. "Rosewood, ten inches with a Thestral hair as a core." He said and looked at Fernando appraisingly. "Good for the Dark Arts and most offensive magic. There might be some hope in you yet, kid. Seeing as you two have your wands already, we're going to start your training now." He said happily.

"Welcome to hell boys." He cackled madly. Harry and Fernando looked at each other and gulped, this was not good.

* * *

A/N:


	6. Chapter VI

A/N: This chapter is mainly snippets of Harry's training over the years, so there will be some things that are not mentioned here but will be mentioned in the later parts of the story. It will all be explained then.

Just to clarify about the Star Wars quote, I was searching through the internet for that thing and it came out with a picture of yoda in a swamp, so I thought it was during the earlier , sorry about that.

Oh and pay close attention to the dates, might be important if you suddenly get lost.

* * *

Chapter VI

(The following events occurred between the months of December 13 1990 to October 30 1996. Events occur in real-time.)

December 13 1990

Rome, Italy

_'Welcome to hell boys.'_ Harry remembered Gustav's words and gritted his teeth. They were currently in the training room of Vongola Manor as they listened to their new mentor's lecture.

"Listen to me, boys, this ain't no schoolyard where you can run to your teachers if you need help. One of the reasons we're doing this is to make you independent so you don't rely on anybody too much." Gustav said. "Now-" He cackled madly. "First things first, you both remembered that stinging hex I taught you just now?" They nodded. "Good, good. Lesson number one, _the effectiveness of muggle weaponry_. Now both of you, go to the other side of the room and at the count of three, I want you to fire the hex at me, is that understood?"

"Uhm, you're not really gonna shot us, are you?" Fernando asked worriedly.

"Course not, it's a rubber bullet. The worse it can do is leave a bruise." He answered.

They nodded again. "Okay."

"3"

"2"

"1"

Before Harry or Fernando could complete the incantation for the stinging hex, Gustav shot them both in the right kneecap.

"_ARRGHHH!_" The wails of the two boys echoed the room overshadowing Gustav' mad cackling. Through the tears and pain as he clutched his wounded knee, Harry hissed. "I thought you said they were rubber bullets?"

Gustav deadpanned. "Lesson number two, _don't trust anybody unless you know him more than half your life and tested him under Veritaserum_." Fernando let out a string of expletives that crossed three different language barriers; English, Italian and Spanish.

He checked his watch and exclaimed. "Well, it's almost dinnertime. I better get going or else I won't find a place to sit." He walked towards the door ignoring their cries of _"YOU BASTARD!"_ and _"HIJO DE PUTA!"_

"Oh right." He pulled something out of his trench coat and enlarged it with his wand. "Here's a book on healing charms, it should help with your little problem." He tossed it to the side of the room ensuring that they have to drag themselves across the room to get to it. "Better hurry, or else all the good food might be gone." He said cheerfully. _"OJALA QUE MUERAS GUUS!" _Fernando shot back.

It was almost four hours later before they managed to cast the healing charm successfully, even then, they still limped for a week. More importantly, they had learned Gustav's third lesson; _'you learn better under pressure'_.

Both boys would find out later that they would experience a sharp pain whenever it rained.

*~*~*~*~*

December 20 1991

Rome, Italy

It was the last day of their week long 'break' they were given every year. They were able to do whatever they please, sadly it was during Daphne's school term and she would not be able to visit Italy and he would not be able to come to Britain. He suspected that **they** had to something to do with it.

It had already been over a year since they had started _'training'_ so far, they had broached several fields of magic; some of them include Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, low-level Dark Arts and some minor combat techniques on the use of muggle of the first spells Harry learned was the glamour charm to hide his cursed scar.

It was the only thing that people recognize about the Boy-Who-Lived; without it he was just Harry, the next leader of a Wizarding Mafia family. Yup, just Harry.

When Fernando asked why they weren't learning Defence against the Dark Arts, Gustav reasoned with them. _"The best defence against the Dark Arts is to know more than the person you're fighting so you can screw him over with a lot more dangerous spells." _He said before cackling madly, this was enough for Fernando to never question Gustav's methods again.

Harry was currently in his bedroom, fiddling with the bow on his present and checking to see whether there were any imperfections on it. He winced as he realized that he didn't get Daphne anything for the previous Christmas. He sighed. This _'rite of passage'_ had prevented them from contacting him and vice-versa in an attempt to _'toughen him up'_. It was a ridiculous but he didn't really want to argue with Gustav nowadays.

Yesterday, he had ventured into Balestrino to look for her gift. He would have bought for Gerard and Astoria too but he knew that would be stretching it. The weird thing was he had to go with a whole squadron of the elite guards called the _'Turks'_. Harry learned that they weren't really helpful especially when he asked their opinions about an eleven year old girl's preference.

Harry walked to Alphonso's office as he held the present in his hands. Before reaching the office, he composed himself and tried to work on his meek, innocent voice. He knew Alphonso had a soft spot for his grandniece and like what Gustav always said. _'Lesson number six, always work the situation to your advantage.'_

He knocked on his office. "Uncle Al?" He asked timidly. "Are you busy cau-cause-" He pretended to stutter.

"Honestly young master, do you actually think I'd fall for that?" He chuckled. "How may I help you?"

"_Damn-_" Harry grumbled. "And I worked on that voice for hours. Anyway, I was wondering if you would kind of let me give Daphne a Christmas present. I don't want her to think that I forgot about her."

Alphonso smiled warmly at him. "Oh, may I inquire what it is?" Alphonso asked.

"It's a stuffed vampire bear." He scrunched up his face in thought. "I didn't know really know what to buy for her. The_ 'Turks'_ weren't exactly helpful."

He watched as Alphonso inspected the card on the present. "From your eastern-European lover?" He chuckled. "Young master, I believe that Italy is not in Eastern Europe. Far from it."

Harry just shrugged. "She'll understand. May I be excuse please?"

"Before you go, I just want to inform you that Gustav will not be teaching you nex year." Alphonso looked amused. "Yes apparently, he's going to meet an old acquintance of his while the two of you will be going to learn from another acquintance of his-" Alphonso was cut off.

"YESSS!" Harry screamed as he ran out of Alphonso's office. "FERNANDOO!" His screams echoed through the empt hallways of Vongola manor.

*~*~*~*~*

December 4 1992

Osaka, Japan

They were having the greatest year yet, mostly because Gustav wasn't with them. They didn't know where or what he was going to do, all they got was a vague answer. _"A friend of mine owes me money."_ He said before doing his trademark cackle.

It had been over eleven months since Gustav dumped them on the doorsteps of their current Sensei who refused to tell them him name. _"My name bears no consequence to you, young ones. From now on, you may call me Sensei."_ He said in a deep voice. He was an average man with regards to his height and build but he had this aura that practically screamed_ 'Don't fuck with me'_. Also, he had this calm disposition about him; nothing seemed to faze him even when Fernando accidentally pulled his toupee'.

Supposedly, the reason they were brought to Japan was to learn the mind arts from their Sensei. Apparently, he was one of the most gifted mind-magic practitioners in the world. When asked why he was willing to teach them, their Sensei smiled sheepishly and ducked his head down. _"I owe Gustav some money." _He mumbled.

By the time December approached and they had to return to Italy, their Sensei had told them that they were adequate in the mind arts and that he had imparted all the knowledge that he could give. He explained that the rest was up to them.

Before they left, Harry asked. _"Sensei, would you mind telling us your name now?"_ He chuckled and smirked at them.

"_Did you or did you not learn legilimency this past year?"_ He remarked.

Harry smiled sheepishly. Staring at his Sensei's eyes, he whispered. _"Legilimens."_ After a few silent seconds as the battle raged in their minds, Harry snapped out of it and smiled. _"Arigato Takei Hayato-sama."_ He said as he bowed.

Takei Hayato smiled warmly as he watched his two disciples leave, that Potter boy had the ability to rival him but he couldn't help but feel a strange presence whenever he entered the boy's mind. Whatever it is, it felt rather heinous, like a taint on his soul. He needed to research on it because he couldn't just sit around while the evil presence consumed his mind.

*~*~*~*~*

December 4 1992

Rome, Italy

"Oi, we're back." Harry said as they entered the manor. Entering the den, they immediately collapsed into the chairs. He groaned as he worked out the kinks in his body. They sat there for almost ten minutes before they realized that nobody was coming to greet them."Well, I'm gonna go find Alphonso." Harry stood up and lugged the newly purchased broom that he had bought in Japan for Daphne, over his shoulder.

"Don't you think you're spoiling her?" He heard Fernando ask as he exited the room.

"She deserves-." He didn't get to finished as he walked right into a girl, sending them both to the floor. He stared at the girl in front of him; she looked around their age, she had sandy brown hair and black eyes that seemed to suck you in. "Uhm, sorry about that." He chuckled weakly. "Who are you exactly; I mean I've never seen you here before."

The girl tilted her head to the side and stared at Harry, her face bore no emotion before the slight hint of recognition hit her eyes."I apologize, my lord." She murmured as she knelt before him.

Harry stammered. "You don't need to do that- I mean, just you-."

"I see you've met Anna." Gustav growled from the shadows behind her. "Boys, meet Anna Ivanovic, your new _'La Mano Neura'_."

"Uhm, _'La Mano Neura'_? My Italian isn't exactly perfect right now." Harry said.

"In English, it translate to _'Black Hand'_, Harry." Fernando's voice cut in. "Basically it means that she's your personal enforcer."

"Isn't that what you're here for?" He asked Fernando.

"No Harry, I'm your underboss, the family's _'Number Two'_. My job is to help you run the family. A _'Black Hand'_ is an assassin, plain and simple."

"Right…" Harry drawled as he looked at the strange girl in front of him. "Anything else I need to know?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well, she's going to be joining you on your _'training'_ from now on. One of the reasons I dumped you with in Japan was to teach her personally." Gustav said.

Harry watched as Anna visibly flinched at the word _'training'_. He paled. "So he **trained** you? Did he –you kno-" A small nod confirmed his suspicions. He leaned close to Anna and whispered in her ear. "Does your knee hurt when it rains?"

She nodded again. Harry immediately crushed the girl in a hug and felt the girl stiffen. "Welcome to the family." He whispered. Letting go, he smiled sheepishly at the emotionless girl. "Well, I'll talk to you later. I've got to see a man about a girl." He said as he lugged the broom over his shoulder and walked to Alphonso's office.

Later, he learned that Anna was a very mysterious girl. When she revealed that she was a metamorphmagus, (Harry had to be explained about what a metamorphmagus means) they had asked her whether this was her true form. All she said was _"This is my form now and that is all that you need to know." _Also, she wasn't very forthcoming about her past either. All they learned over a whole hour of talking was; her name, her ability, the training she endured with Gustav and her birth year.

Harry did not press her about the questions she refused to answer. Everyone had their little secrets, he just chose to accept the fact that Anna was a reclusive person and he had to respect her privacy.

'I wonder what we have in store next year.' He briefly wondered.

*~*~*~*~*

April 17 1993

Rome, Italy

Harry Potter scowled as he failed again. "For the love-" He grumbled under his breath.

Five months ago, Gustav had explained that he was going to master his dual-core casting. When he asked Gustav how he was going to accomplish this feat, Gustav immediately stunned him before he could even get his wand out. He had awoken from his unconscious state to find himself inside a hall alone. The room itself was large with a toilet connected to it. There was a small bed, a desk and a small target practice in a corner of the room. The rest however, was occupied with rows and rows of shelves littered with was his own little world because Gustav had locked him in without any outside contact whatsoever. The only contact he got was from the house-elves who delivered him food and even they refused to talk to him.

It was driving him insane, the lack of contact, and his failures at attempting dual core casting. He briefly wondered what Anna and Fernando were doing while he was in here. Then again, he shivered as he imagined the two of them training with Gustav.

"What am I doing wrong, Daphne?" His words echoed in the large room. A short silence. "I know, I know." He grumbled and turned towards the bust of Daphne he had made by transfiguring a random book. The bust was rather elegant and almost life-like. He was indeed proud of his transfiguration skill.

He patted her head and kissed the forehead. "I know, love. I won't give up." He pondered again as he repeated the theory that _'Vongola Primo'_ had written in a diary which he had found among the shelves.

His theory states that a person's magic did not come from the wand but from the body itself. A wand merely channels the energy from the body into the core of the wand. So, Primo deduced that in order to master dual core casting; instead of channel the body's energy into one core, one should merely channel the energy into two cores of the same type.

It was so simple an idiot could understand it, but understanding and mastering was two completely different things. He briefly doubted the man's intelligence but quickly struck it out of his mind, Primo had started one of the most powerful Wizarding Mafia families, how could he not be a genius.

Over the months of trial and error, Harry had reasoned that one had to be in tune with one's magic to redirect the flow of the body's magic into two directions.

Harry sighed. He was smart but he wasn't one of those geniuses that could suddenly absorb the knowledge one second and do it a few minutes later. At least, he had read some rare tomes on topics like Transfiguration, Charms and the Dark Arts. It wasn't a complete waste of time being in this room. Whenever he failed at attempting to dual-cast, he vowed to learn a spell in return. Well, long story short, Harry failed...a lot. He must have doubled his spell repertoire over the months.

'Maybe I should try meditating.' He mused.

*~*~*~*~*

October 27 1993

Rome, Italy

"LET ME OUT GODAMMIT, I ALREADY MASTERED THE STUPID THING." Harry was currently leaning against a wall in the room, the bust of Daphne in one hand and the other banging on the walls in an act of desperation. He had been banging for almost ten minutes.

In the span of the past six months, he had perfected his dual-core casting until he was able to dual-cast somewhat efficiently, so he reasoned with himself that he deserved to go free from this prison.

Apparently, the trick of dual-core casting was complete silence, to be able to detach yourself from your consciousness. It was in a fact a very deep state of mind that Harry was able to feel the magical energy in his body and slowly learned to guide the flow of his magic to the dual cores. The only set back of dual-casting is that since more magic is needed to pump into casting simultaneously, it burns the magical reserves faster.

Harry watched as a door shimmered into existence and a weary looking Fernando and Anna (who still kept a blank expression) entered. "Hey boss, how's it hanging?" He asked weakly. "What the hell is that?" He pointed towards the bust of Daphne.

Harry held Daphne in two hands and proudly flaunted the bust. "This is my dear Daphne." He paused and deadpanned. "Yes, I know. I've become slightly insane." Immediately, he shot off the ground and pulled the four of them (including Daphne) into a group hug. Anna stiffened at his contact but still, just stood there awkwardly. "My lord, Gustav wishes to see you to ascertain your growth." She murmured.

He nodded and ended the group hug. "All right, let's go." They led him to the training room where Gustav and Alphonso were waiting inside. Gustav was already standing at the end of the duelling platform, wand in hand.

"Ready when you are, kid." He growled.

"Hold that for me will you?" Harry said as he pushed the bust to Anna's hand.

Harry quickly stepped on the platform. "Bring the rain, old man." Harry smirked as he got into an offensive duelling stance, both wands in hand; the right over his head and the left holding it at his chest level pointing to Gustav.

"_Stupefy!"_ Gustav whispered immediately after Harry's taunt.

A blue dome popped into existence around Harry as two red beams shot back towards Gustav. He merely flicked his wand and both spells flickered out.

He cackled madly. "I'm impressed. You managed to not only learn dual-casting but to cast two different spells simultaneously. I would have thought it was non-verbal casting too if I hadn't heard you whisper that stunning spell."

Harry went into the offensive as he fired a nerve-scrambling curse he had found back in the room and quickly summoned three snakes.

"_Distract the old man."_ He hissed in Parseltongue. The snakes slithered to Gustav menacingly as they bared their fangs at him. Gustav eyes widened comically at the use of Parseltongue but kept his composure as he dodged the nerve scrambling curse and levelled his wand at the snakes.

"_Vipera Evanesca."_ The three snakes immediately vanished in a puff of smoke. "Parseltongue?" He inquired.

"Back in the room, I found a book about the founders of Hogwarts. It was said that one of the founders had the ability to speak to snakes. Back when I was ten, I thought I heard a snake talk so I tried to test that theory." He grunted. "Turns out I was right."

"_Umbra Ilcantiam Tatum."_ Immediately, two illusions of Harry shimmered beside him. The three versions of Harry pointed both their wands at Gustav and roared. _"VEPERIO!"_ Six silver arcs shot from their wands and travelled to Gustav at an incredible speed.

"_AEGIS!"_ Gustav roared and a golden coloured shield enclosed his body before it shattered with a loud crack as the silver arcs battered against the shield. One managed to pass through but Gustav just tilted his head sideways and let the spell shot pass him.

Harry was already on the ground panting, the two illusions beside him slowly fading out of existence. Gustav advanced on Harry, levelling his wand at him. Gustav growled. "I win." He said before cackling madly. "Good job kid." He pulled him up by the scruffs of his neck. "You almost got me with that last curse."

"Almost?" Harry asked and pointed towards Gustav's right cheek. Gustav immediately dropped him to the ground and felt his cheeks. Harry groaned when he was dropped but smirked at Gustav.

Gustav roared with laughter as he felt the cut on his right cheek. "Pretty good with that replication charm. Almost got me good before I realized my mistake. I'm even more impressed with the fact that you were able to cast such a difficult charm."

Fernando rushed towards the platform while Anna walked in a sedated pace. "Harry that was bitching. How the hell did you get your illusions to fire a real spell?" He asked excitedly.

It was Anna who answered him. "An obscure shadow replication charm." She said in a level-voice.

Gustav knelt and leaned in close to Harry. "Don't think you've won kid, I could still kill you several different ways before you blink." Harry turned as white as a sheet. "But you're not going to right?" He asked.

Gustav ignored him and looked towards Alphonso. "What do you think?" Seeing a nod from Alphonso, he said to the group. "Del Toro, drag his ass with you. We're gonna get to get you three suited up."

They followed Gustav as he brought them to a room where none of them had ever ventured before. The room was actually their _'equipment shack'_. Despite the lousy name, it was actually the most kick-ass room they had ever seen.

"Bitching," Fernando and Harry said in unison. Anna just raised an eyebrow. The walls were covered with muggle weaponry; a variety of guns, swords and bows. Harry spotted a large cannon at the corner of the large room.

"A cannon?" Harry asked in disbelief. "What in the world can we do with a cannon that size?"

Gustav shrugged his shoulders. "Never know when it might come in handy." He then proceeded to walk to a large wardrobe and pulled out different sizes of suits and chucked it at them. Reaching into a bottom drawer, he chucked several skirts at Anna's head.

"Right, you three try those on and I'll get you the other stuff." He said absent-mindedly and went to rummage a weapons locker at the end of the room. The three quickly exited the room and into the bathroom.

When they were finished _'suiting up'_, Harry had to admit they looked good. They each wore a black suit and tie with the Vongola crest displayed on the breast pocket and received a shoulder-holster equipped with a standard handgun and a small dagger, wand holsters and dragon-hide armour which they wore underneath their dress shirt. They were told to wear this uniform at** all** times to keep to the unofficial family creed; _'We look good while doing it'._

They had each received a special gift given by the Council. Fernando's had been a short-sword with a wooden sheath and handle while Anna received an invisibility cloak. Despite keeping a blank expression, Harry knew that she was at least excited at the prospect of the gift. Harry received a handgun that was specifically designed for him. It was sleek black with a bit of silver, while the handle was made of gold. There was a carving of the Roman numeral thirteen (XIII) on the side of it.

"Uhm, why exactly are we _'suited up'_ again?" Fernando asked as he twirled his new sword around gleefully.

Gustav cackled madly, effectively stopping Fernando in his tracks. "From now on, you're gonna start going on _'business trips'_ with me." He smiled menacingly. Harry, Fernando and Anna just flinched simultaneously.

'This was not a good sign.' Harry thought.

*~*~*~*~*

December 3 1993

Rome, Italy

Harry Potter slumped in his bed, tired after finishing their first _'business trip'_ with Gustav. He shrugged the suit off his shoulders and unbuckled the shoulder holster that held his handgun and placed it on the bedside table. Harry sighed as he chucked the now useless glasses on the floor. Gustav had somehow cured him of his faulty vision saying that it was a liability in battle, especially after what happened during the last mission. He quickly pushed it to the back of his thoughts, he shouldn't be dwelling on the past.

Fernando barged into his room excitedly. "What's up boss?"

"What are you so cheerful about?" He asked.

"We completed our mission." He said happily. "My first mission for the family. Ooh, did you see when I stabbed that guy before he tried to-" Harry drifted off.

Their first mission was to find and eliminate a group of rebels that were planning to overthrow the Italian Wizarding government. Officially, they wanted to remain in the good books of Minister Chiellini. Unofficially, they wanted to keep their pawn in the government so that the Ministry would turn a blind eye on their activities. The rebels were amateurs but they had many cells located around Rome and the neighbouring states. It was one of the reasons why they took so long to complete the mission.

Killing didn't really matter to them anymore especially after witnessing the ruthlessness of Gustav as he tore into his enemies. Harry just didn't have it in him to feel anguish over the deaths of the people he killed. He had reasoned with himself that they were merely obstacles in his way, pure and simple.

"Right Anna?" He heard Fernando ask.

A short silence, then he heard her soft voice echo the room. "Yes." Harry shot out of his bed and stumbled to the ground.

"Anna, **please **stop following me around in that damned invisibility cloak. I know you're just doing your job but at least, tell me if you're in the same room." Harry paused and stammered. "Especially after what happened in the Siena."

Fernando roared with laughter. It had been a very awkward and embarrassing situation when he found out that she had followed him into the bathroom while he was showering. 'That damn cloak's a menace.' He thought. Anna was a very devoted girl who took orders very literally, when Alphonso had ordered her to shadow him at all times as an invisible guardian of sorts, she followed him **everywhere**.

"Anyway, we only get to stay here for how long again?" Harry asked.

"Eh, Guus said about a week before we start travelling again apparently, he's got this big tour planned for the three of us. Said that we were going to scour every inch of the globe or else we won't be coming."

"Wonderful."Harry muttered sarcastically. He hated any of Gustav's plans, ideas or suggestions because it usually doesn't bode well for them.

*~*~*~*~*

December 17 1995

Hong Kong, China

Two years had passed since they had left Vongola Manor. Over the years, they had travelled the world while completing 'business trips' for the family, expanding their knowledge and even occasionally helping out an allied family or two. Currently, they were helping one of their allied families in dealing with a little turf war in the middle of the magical part of Kowloon Bay.

Harry was on his knees panting, surveying the scene before him. Everything was wrecked to hell but the _stupid_ triad turf war was finally over. That will teach those idiots not to mess with the 'Cheung family'. Harry slid his wands back into his holsters. All he had to do now was to pay their respects to the leader of the Cheung family and they were able to return home. He rubbed the dust off his suit. It wouldn't be good if he didn't look presentable in front of their allies.

"Master Cheung." Harry rasped and bowed his head slightly.

"Young Vongola." Master Cheung said with a heavy Chinese accent, bowing his head slightly too. "From what I see, you fight well. I am impressed." He looked at Harry appraisingly.

Harry smirked. "You honour me with your praise Master Cheung but even I noticed your skills with a wand. Almost legendary, I might add."

Master Cheung chuckled. "We wish to thank your family for your help with our _little_ problem. If Vongola family have problem, we return favour. You can depend on us to come if you need help."

"And so it shall be done, Master Cheung. Now if you'll excuse us, we would like to return home to tend to our wounds." Harry said and bowed again.

*~*~*~*~*

December 18 1995

Rome, Italy

The three of them were in the kitchen of Vongola Manor since it was still their unofficial hangout spot. "Seems kind of fast doesn't it? I mean we've been travelling for two years already." Fernando said. "I mean it kinda makes you miss home." Fernando said absent-mindedly as he diced some meat on the chopping board. In the background, a house-elf named Binky was silently crying as he watched Fernando usurp his task.

Anna was hovering around the stoves as she nibbled on a spoon ladled with gravy meant for this evening's dinner. "Yes, it has." She murmured.

Harry was currently sitting on the counter top, constantly twitching. How could he have forgot to send Daphne her presents for last Christmas. Well, he was actively being thrown into dangerous situations around the world but that shouldn't excuse his behaviour.

"_Ooh_- come on, boss. It can't be that bad?" Fernando asked.

"But-bu I-" Harry stuttered.

"Listen boss, I'm sure she understands why you didn't get her a present. What with you being half-way across the world. Besides, your last gift, that custom-made Japanese broom must have been enough for twelve Christmases. I mean you could buy a house with that kinda money."

"Well, it's the thought that counts, not the cost of the presents." Harry grumbled under his breath.

Fernando sighed. "If you're that worried, just get her two this year. What did you buy anyway?"

"The collectives works of Jane Austen, the original 18th century ones and uhm well, Anna thought that a pet would be a good idea. So I bought her a cat." He looked at Anna as if to clarify his statement.

She stared blankly at Fernando. "Girls like cats." She murmured and went back to stirring the gravy on the stove.

"Okay." Fernando said awkwardly. "Anyway, we only got two weeks left until we leave again." He sighed. "Any hints as to where he's bringing us?"

"I sneaked a look at his reports. One said that there was a new contract for an uprising dark lord in Argentina, it's possible we're going there." Anna said.

"Great another one, I hope it won't be like that time in Brazil." Harry grumbled under his breath.

* * *

A/N: That's that. Anyway just to explain a little bit more about Anna, I know I didn't really go into detail about her character but just wait until further chapters. So all you need to know is, she's quiet, rarely shows emotions, a metamorphmagus and a prodigy. (even though I never said it)

Anyway, review and what not since the next chapter will come out in an hour at most and another one and another and...that's all I got for this week.


	7. Chapter VII

A/N: For your viewing pleasure...the seventh chapter.I hope you like this chapter, took me a heck of a long time to think about it.

* * *

Chapter VII

October 30 1996

Paris, France

The tumultuous storm lashed the rain sideways as it pattered against the windows. Harry Potter winced as he awoke from his slumber, feeling the sharp pain in his knees associated with the rain. Across from his bed, Fernando jerked awake too. "Damn-" He panted. "Always, always when it rains."

Harry shared his frustrations, ever since they started their travels, rainy days have always been a bad omen for them. "You awake too, Anna?" Harry ventured a guess.

"Yes." Came her one word answer. The three had been sharing a room together ever since they started going on _'business trips'_ with their mentor Gustav. There was no awkward tension between the three anymore and each of them had no qualms about sharing a room together. Besides they had treated each other's wounds during their missions before so there was next to nothing that they didn't already see.

Harry sighed and mussed up his hair, it was still rather messy but he liked it that way. They had all grown up already; six years had gone by so fast. Both boys were now around 5"11", and thanks to all the running around from rival gang members, vampires, crazy shamans, Gustav, the magical police, inferi, giants, werewolves; suffice to say they had a rather killer physique.

Anna, now standing at about 5"7" and had one of those petite model figures. Despite her being a metamorphmagus, She still wore the same hairstyle as she did back then. (She never did like changing her looks unless it was for a mission)

"Let's just go back to sleep, alright? We still got that tournament tomorrow." They just grunted in response.

*~*~*~*~*

October 31 1996

Paris, France

"_Owww_, stop being so rough, Anna." Harry said as he tried to tug his injured arm away from Anna's grasp.

"If my lord would stop whining?" She said with just a tiny hint of irritation. Harry smiled cheekily. "Did I just make you mad? You're mad aren't you? Admit it."

"Yes, my lord." Her voice subdued. "So please stop struggling."

Harry sighed. Gustav had entered Harry and Fernando (Anna had refused to enter) in the European Dueling Championship, a tournament held annually in different European countries, only this year, it was in Paris. He said that it was necessary to fulfil the Vongola motto; _'He who conquers everything under the sky'_ and since this tournament is technically categorized under the sky, he had to win it. (Under threat of death from Gustav too)

Gustav had recorded him under an alias and signed some sort of waiver with the International Standards Board for Duelers to let them compete as adults. The main different between adults and the different age categories was that almost every spell was legal. (Well everything except for the Unforgivables) The tournament certainly had a number of fatalities over the years but nothing too serious that would result in the discontinuation of the tournament.

They had been slightly nervous when they learned that their opponents would have decades more experience than them. However, thanks to Gustav's training, they still managed to breeze past their matches without much difficulty. Now, Harry and Fernando were in the finals. Both were slightly tired since the matches were held successively and they didn't have much time to rest. It was already in the evening and the finals would be taking place shortly.

"Well boss, gonna break out the dual-casting?" Fernando's voice cut in. He had a number of cuts and bruises but nothing too serious. "That last guy almost had you, you know? But still, always knew you'd make it." He punched Harry's injured arm lightly.

"_Owww_, are you trying to sabotage the competition mate?" Harry scowled playfully.

"Harry-" Fernando's voice suddenly serious. "I want you to take this fight seriously." He held out his hand. "All out?" He smirked.

Harry smirked back. He understood what Fernando meant. For the whole tournament, he had been holding back by using only one wand. Harry shook his hand. "Bring the rain right? We better make a place for you after I'm done."

"I don't expect anything less, boss." Fernando replied.

*~*~*~*~*

"-and I would like to welcome you to the finals of the European Dueling Championship." The announcer shouted as his magically amplified voice carried throughout the stadium. The roar of the crowd was almost deafening that they overshadowed the announcer's amplified voice.

"Both finalists, relative unknowns in the dueling circuit have swept past the competition this year. A feat in itself considering their young age. You can hope to watch a memorable final, judging from what you've seen from their previous matches. Ladies and Gentleman, I give you, HARRISON EVANS ANNNND FERNANDO DEL TOROOO!" The fans in the stadium were almost evenly split in their chants of _'Evans'_ and _'Del Toro'_.

Harry was slightly nervous. He was never used to people cheering for him especially an entire half of a sold-out stadium. Even Anna tried to give him an encouragement, _"Don't die, my lord."_ She said. Back then, people only cheered **at **him when he was getting his face bashed in my Dudley. See, big difference.

He shook his head and tried to compose himself by using Occlumency to hide his anxiety. Across the dueling platform, Fernando was doing the same.

"Anything to declare?" The match official asked loudly. They were asked this question at the start of every match since the tournament allowed the use of certain weapons during the matches. They had to declare their additional weapons (aside from their wand) or else if they used it in a match, they would be disqualified.

Harry spoke up. "Yes." Harry pulled out his second wand from the other wand holster and showed it to the official. "Another wand?" The official asked confused. He looked towards the judges seated at a table near the platform. Seeing a nod from them, he declared loudly. "The use of a second wand by competitor Harrison Evans has been judged acceptable."

Fernando then declared his signature short sword that he had strapped to his back. "The use of a short sword by competitor Fernando Del Toro has been judged acceptable."

"Gentleman, you may proceed when ready." The official said as he jumped off the platform and a blue dome surrounded the dueling platform. It was a precautionary measure so that stray spells would not hit the audience and vice-versa.

Harry got into a dueling stance, one hand above his head the other at chest inhaled deeply and immediately shot the first spell.

"_Rumperis, Vexameum."_ He casted simultaneously.

The advanced blasting curse and the bone breaking curse sailed towards Fernando but he had already dodged it and was speeding towards Harry. That was his style, close-combat dueling. Mainly because most wizards (or witches) would be scared shitless at how close their opponents were to them.

Fernando sent back a chain of bludgeoning and cutting curses which Harry put up two layers of shield to absorb. The shields shattered under the brunt of the spell and the momentary lapse in concentration allowed Fernando to get in close to Harry. He pulled back his sword and slashed it diagonally aiming for Harry's neck. Harry quickly transfigured his left wand into a sword. Both swords gave a _'clank'_ as it clashed halfway.

Both tried to aim a point-blank spell but Harry was faster in the draw and managed to cast a pepper-spray hex into Fernando's eyes. He screamed then rolled out of the way and muttered the counter curse at the same time. He narrowly managed to avoid the onslaught of spells Harry had sent at him.

"_Debellum"_ Fernando said as he tried to distract Harry from continuing his chain casting. Harry rolled out of the way of the nerve-scrambling curse, immediately conjuring a marble wall and a shield to stall for time.

Behind the wall, he conjured three snakes and enlarged the snakes to be about seven foot in height. He quickly banished what was left from the marble wall towards Fernando and quietly ordered the snakes to bind Fernando.

What happened next, impressed Harry greatly. Fernando immediately cast an exploding charm that decimated the wall. Pulling his sword close to his chest, he moved with the grace of a dancer. He charged towards one of the snakes while sending a chain of severing curse to the other two and dodging the spells Harry had sent at him. He side-stepped the snake as it lunged towards him. Instantaneously, he pushed out his sword and sliced the snake horizontally.

Harry paused as he watched six parts of the snakes fall to the ground almost at the same time. "Damnn…" He accidentally blurted out.

The two continued to trade spells for the next fourty minutes (Later, they learned that they had set a record for the longest match in the history of the European Dueling Competition) so far, Harry had scored three hits on Fernando; a bone-breaking curse to his right shoulder, a blasting curse to his left hand and that pepper-spray hex to his eyes. Fernando had scored two; slashing Harry across the chest and an electrocution spell (a lesser degree of the Cruciatus curse) which he held on for about three seconds. The injuries was nothing they couldn't handle with their proficiency with healing charms.

Now, their movements were getting heavier and more sluggish. The crowd could see that they were on their last reserves of strength to keep the match going to decide the winner. This match was not going to end as a tie if the boys had anything to do about it. Harry knew he had to end this quickly as he was on his last vestige of strength since dual-casting took a lot out of him. If this continued any longer, the match would eventually go to Fernando. He quickly side-stepped Fernando as he slashed wildly at his chest.

Summoning all the energy needed, he casted the shadow replication charm. Two version of Harry shimmered beside him. The first one grabbed Fernando's arm and pulled it back and the second quickly followed up with a punch to the gut sending Fernando doubled over. Harry immediately grabbed his head and smashed his knee to Fernando's jaw and followed up with a banishing charm at point-blank range which sent him flying directly to the dome. He crashed against the dome and landed face first with a _'thump'._

'_Ouch._' Harry winced slightly as he watched Fernando land. 'He'll survive...I think.' Immediately, the stadium roared with their approval for Harry's memorable win, loudly chanting _'Evans, Evans, Evans'_. He ignored the cheers and rushed over to his friend's side.

He heard Fernando groan and help him turn over. Harry winced, his face was bloody and he seemed to have broken some bones in the fall. "Don't talk, I think I broke your jaw." He rasped. Muttering a quick healing charm, Harry watched as his injuries slowly healed.

"Owww. Overkill much, boss?" Fernando groaned. "That banisher was totally unnecessary." He tried to scowl.

Harry scoffed. "Course I had to do that. My underboss wouldn't go down so easily to some weak-arse knee to the face." He said as heclapped Fernando's arm. "Good match, Fernando."

Fernando tried to smile back. "Yeah, good match but now I'm _kinda-_."

Harry could feel his eyelids dropping, he had used too much of his energy. He wanted to give in to the exhaustion and just sleep. Suddenly, he felt pain shot up his entire body. It was like knives were piercing his skin as he felt something trying to rip away his magic. His scream echoed throughout the stadium, silencing the cheers from the crowd.

"Boss, boss!" Fernando shouted as he shook Harry's shoulder. He vaguely noticed Anna and Gustav rushing to the platform. Summoning up the last bit of strength, he rasped. "England, we need to go to England."

*~*~*~*~*

October 31 1996

Hogwarts, Somewhere In Scotland

It was the night of Halloween and Hogwarts was having the Halloween feast. Dumbledore sighed wearily. Tonight was the anniversary of the Potter's death and their son's triumph over one of the most feared wizard in Wizarding Enland and yet, no one seemed to be mourning for them.

His thoughts wandered back to the youngest Potter and glimpsed at the raucous laughter coming from the Gryffindor table. 'Harry should have been here.' He thought.

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Disappeared had been declared missing six years ago. Dumbledore first realized his mistake in 1991 when Harry's letter had been returned back to him.

_-Flashback-_

_He immediately sought out the monitoring charms on his shelves. 'The wards seemed fine.' He thought. The blood wards were actually non-existent; he realized that when he tried to cast it on the Dursley's home and it didn't work. He had no clear answers why it didn't work but he speculated that it was because of the jealousy and hatred Petunia felt for Lily causing her to renounce anything to do with her sister._

_Instead he had cast a variety of wards that would have kept Harry safe but would not directly affect life in Privet Drive. The wards he casted would ensure that any wizard or witches with bad intentions towards Harry would be unable to enter the premises. Also, he included a mail ward so that Harry would not receive any letters from fans or well-wishers until he was ready to return to the Wizarding World. He believed that it was for the best that Harry had some semblance of a normal childhood even if McGonagall had called them 'the worst sort of muggles'. Even if the Dursleys weren't exactly perfect, Harry was still a blood relative and he hoped that he would have been cared for._

_If Harry had instead joined a Wizarding family, he feared that some of the guardians might use him for ulterior motives like the status and his access to the Potter Vaults. No, no it was better if he didn't take any chances. Harry was too important to the cause. He knew Voldemort was still alive and out there somewhere until he would regain his powers and return to England._

_He perceived that it was because of the prophecy that Harry survived the Killing Curse but why hadn't it killed Voldemort? Instead Voldemort was expelled from his body; living a half-life. The story that he had told to the public was a lie. It wasn't because of Lily's love for her son that rebounded the curse back to Voldemort, if so, why had hundreds of other mothers failed to do the exact same thing she did? Was it because they didn't love their children enough? Was Lily that special?_

_No. The public wanted an explanation, he gave them a half-truth. He couldn't afford to let the prophecy become public knowledge ever since Voldemort started going after it, even now when some of his Death Eaters managed escape punishment from the ministry._

_If he appeared to be a manipulative man who toyed with other people's lives; so be it. He had a duty to this world and that was to protect the many others that are unable to do so. What was the value of one person's life when he could save so many others?_

_Who was he to make such a decision? It was the pressure from public, of course. Ever since his triumph over Gellert, everyone had been looking up to him as a saviour. He remembered when a woman slapped him when he was in public. She had berated him about how she had lost her entire family in the war and blamed him for their deaths. If he had not been so slow over vanquishing Gellert, they could have survived. _

_That meeting had changed his outlook completely. He realized that morals are subjective. They change depending on different individuals. Therefore, it is impossible to make what is morally right in everyone's' eyes .He reminisced back to his youth when he was in America on his tour of the world and heard a phrase by a late muggle president. The muggle, Abraham Lincoln said that 'Our actions and inactions are both conscious choices and are equally praiseworthy or blameworthy if their outcomes are the same.'_

_He believed that it was his inactions that prolonged the war and caused Gellert to destroy those families and ruin the lives of the remaining survivors. He would not make the same mistakes again if he could help it. Harry is the key to their salvation and he would do anything and everything to quell the next uprising of Tom Riddle._

_Albus Dumbledore, the proclaimed greatest wizard on Earth sat there in his chair for fifteen minutes, inner monologuing. He did not realize that his Deputy Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall stepped into his office five minutes ago and had been trying to get his attention ever since._

"_Albus!" Minerva almost shouted. _

_He shook out of his musings and stared at her. "Sorry, my dear. When you get as old as me, your mind starts to wander off." He chuckled. "Come now. Let us be off to the Dursleys."_

_They apparated near Privet Drive and walked at a hurried pace to the Dursleys home. Dumbledore composed himself and knocked the door. A few seconds later after hearing a loud yell of 'Get the door Dudley', a rather pudgy child answered the door._

"_What'cha want?" He asked in an annoyed tone._

"_Hello Dudley, may I speak to Harry Potter please?" He asked._

_Dudley's eyes widened as he finally took notice of the two strangers appearance. "DAD! They're asking about the freak."_

_A nervous-looking Vernon Dursley rushed towards the door. "Listen, that boy was taken away by the state. I'm sorry but there was nothing we could do about it." He said hurriedly and moved to close the door but Dumbledore stopped him._

"_And why would the government see fit to take him away?" He asked in a steely voice._

"_No, no. Don't you blame this on me, old man." Vernon snarled as his face turned purple. "You left him with us without our consent and said something about some magic mumbo-jumbo. I DON'T CARE. I'm a working man who gets by on a fixed salary and you just suddenly expect me to feed another mouth, care for that __**woman's **__child out of the goodness of my heart?" He asked sarcastically. "No. No. My family tolerated him for nine years. NINE WHOLE YEARS. We were kind enough to keep the boy but when the state asked to us to give up his guardianship; I was more than happy to."_

_Dumbledore was trying to stave off the anger he felt towards the man in front of him but more so towards himself because he was ignorant to believe that Harry would not be taken away by muggle means._

'_I should have placed a monitoring charm on the boy himself' He thought. "You know nothing about where they took Harry?"_

"_No, they just took him away after we signed the papers." Dumbledore did a quick legilimency scan and found out he was indeed telling the truth._

"_At the very least show me his room so I can check for any clues." Dumbledore pleaded._

_Vernon realized that his neighbours were starting to stare at the strange scene unfolding in their front yard. Not wanting this information to become public knowledge, he quickly pulled them into his home. "Fine." He hissed. "But after this you have to swear that you won't return ever again. We helped to raise that brat for you, that's the least you can do for us."_

_Dumbledore sighed. He knew it was a lost cause if he ever tried to return Harry to the Dursley. It was reasonable enough for him._

"_I, Albus Dumbledore do so swear on my magic to never return here to the Dursley's home." He said and a swish of white sparks erupted from his wand and surrounded his body. Behind him, Minerva gasped. "That Mr. Dursley is a magical vow. If I violate my promise, my magic will be stripped away from me. Is this acceptable for you?"_

_Vernon nodded slowly. "Fine." He grunted. "His room's under there." He pointed towards a door under the staircase._

_Minerva gasped. "That's what you call a room? It's a damn cupboard." She said angrily. "You've been letting him sleep there for nine years?"_

_Petunia cut into the conversation. "That's more than your kind deserves." She sneered at the both of them. "Besides there was no other room in the house." _

_Dumbledore gave her a defeated look. "Petunia, how could you do this to your own nephew? I am so disappointed in you."_

_Petunia merely scoffed. "Disappointed?" She asked in disbelief and chuckled darkly. "That is a word I'm very familiar with, Dumbledore. I always hear **that** from my parents when they so often compared me with my perfect __**sister**__." She spat. _

"_No, no. You knew I hated her with every fibre of my being and yet, you still sent her bastard love child to us. You actually think that just because she died that I would sympathize for her and grow to love her child like my own? No, that child was the embodiment of Lily and I hated him just as much as I hated her. Instead, you should be proud that I didn't dump that bastard at some orphanage or on the streets." She finished with a crazy look on her eyes._

"_I only tolerated him because you threaten to use tha-that thing against us but then, isn't it just lucky for us that social services decided to take him away." She narrowed her eyes and glared at the two guests. "We've told you everything we know. Now, do what you want and never, ever set foot in my house again." With that, she turned and entered the kitchen where she was starting to prepare dinner._

_Dumbledore sighed. It appears that Petunia was still that hateful child that he had met so many years ago. He had hoped that Harry would be able to displace her hatred towards her sister but it seems that he was wrong. He shared a meaningful look with Minerva who was still glaring at the back of Petunia._

_He coughed to get her attention. "Minerva, I believe we should hurry on with our inspection of er- young Harry's 'room'."_

_Minerva turned to glare at him, it was a glare that promised a stern lecture from the crossed witch. She huffed. "Fine."_

_They moved towards the small cupboard and crouched so that they can properly examine it. It was not what he expected. All they found were several cleaning products and appliances that seemed to be broken. It appears that the Dursley had thrown out what was left in Harry's 'room'. _

"_Lumos" He budged in closer into the small cupboard. He saw scribbling on the wall and examine it further. He gasped. _

'_I must no-' written in small traces of dried blood on the wall. The rest of the sentence trailed off and he wondered what would compel young Harry to smear blood on the wall, even more so, what could have happened to cause Harry to bleed? 'Was it merely an accident?' He thought. Deciding quickly, he took a sample of the dried blood and pocketed it, erasing any evidence of the scribbling._

_He exited the small cupboard to find Minerva looking at him anxiously. He shook his head sadly. "There was nothing in there."_

_The two moved towards the door where a surly Petunia was holding the door open for them. "Petunia, I would like to-"_

'_SLAM'_

_The door closed in his face, hitting his rather prominent nose. He rubbed it softly as a bump seemed to have formed. Both of them quickly apparated back to his office in Hogwarts when Minerva (who had been holding in her rant for the past ten minutes since leaving the Dursleys) finally let loose._

"_This is your fault, Albus. I've told you that night that it was a mistake to leave Harry here and what did you do?" Minerva snapped at him._

"_I er-"_

"_Do not interrupt me. I'll tell you what you did. You just went ahead with your crazy scheme and ignored everything I've said. You jeopardized the poor boy's safety by putting him there and now what happened?" She asked rhetorically._

_He chose to keep his mouth shut._

"_I'll tell you what happened. They abused the poor boy and the state took him away. Why didn't you think to even check on the poor boy's condition?"_

_Seeing that it was time to talk, he answered. "I did not think that Petunia would treat Harry in that manner since he is-"_

"_THAT IS IT, ALBUS. You do not think. You didn't even consider other's opinions before you make this decision. I'm sure everybody knew about how much Petunia hated Lily and yet, you decide to send him there." Her face immediately fell. "But I suppose we're all a little to blame. Not once had I ever thought to visit Harry." She walked towards the door in a sedated pace. Before she left, she turned to face him. "We had a responsibility to that child and we did we do? We screwed up." She paused and whispered sadly. "I'm sure Lily and James are rolling over in their graves."_

_He sighed as he watched as Minerva left his office. Now, their only hope was missing and it was all because of him. He took out the vial of dried blood he had kept in his robes. He stared at it as he thought of the various ways he could use it to bring Harry back._

_He quickly turned towards the fireplace and floo-called Severus. 'Maybe he has an idea.' He thought._

_-End Flashback-_

It was time.

It was time to bring Harry back to England. Of course, he had heard whispers of his sightings across Europe and Asia but he couldn't just drop everything and investigate every lead. Even his informants came up with nothing conclusive.

Dumbledore quickly walked up to the Goblet. "And the champion for Beaubaxton is… Fleur Delacour." A polite round of applause rang out in the hall for the quarter-Veela as she walked towards the antechamber.

"And the Durmstrang champion is…Gregorio Voronin." A dark haired boy yawned as he stood up, a boresome look on his face. A terse atmosphere as he walked down the Slytherin table towards the antechamber. The students of Durmstrang clapped robotically; looks of disappointment, fear and anger directed towards their representative.

"Finally, the champion for Hogwarts is…Johnathan Lescott." The Ravenclaw table stood up and roared as his name was called. A rather tall boy with long black hair pumped his fist in the air; celebrating merrily with his housemates. His walk towards the antechamber was met with some resistance as his housemates tried to mob him.

For the house of Rowena Ravenclaw, this was an opportunity to restore their former glory back in the days of the founders. With the fierce rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin raging these past thousand years, the house of Ravenclaw has been steadily pushed back to the background. The Hufflepuffs' shared their enthusiasm as they cheered on for their school champion whereas both Slytherin and Gryffindor students just looked on grudgingly, ashamed that another house had managed to take the glory of being named the Hogwarts champion.

"Yes, yes now that the three champions have-" He paused and pretended to stare up in shock at the Goblet as it turned blue and ejected another name.

Dumbledore need not look at the paper because he already knew who it was going to be. Inwardly, he smiled. He schooled his features into disbelief and shock. "Harry Potter…" His voice carried out through the hall silencing everyone.

'Soon, the prodigal son will return to England.' He thought.

* * *

A/N: Right just to clarify; 'to make a place' roughly refers to a grave of sorts in mafia terminology. Before, I draw any flak for the supposed Naruto-esque technique of having replicas that can move and such, to be fair; it wasn't some sort of ninjitsu whatever, it's an obscure charm.

If you think about it, having doubles is actually a cool thing to have in a duel.


	8. Chapter VIII

A/N: The thing that just keeps on giving...

* * *

Chapter VIII

November 1 1996

London, England

"It's so shiny." Fernando held up his medal to the sky as he admired it gleam against the sunlight. He proceeded to buff and polished it with the sleeves of his suit.

"Fernando, don't make me take it away." Harry's face twitched as he glared at Fernando through his sunglasses. It was a measure to prevent people from recognizing him since most people knew him through his scar and green eyes that bore such a resemblance to his mother. He stifled a groan as he felt the surge of pain shot through his body again and almost stumbled to the ground. This had been one of his frequent _'attacks'_ that usually left him feeling weak and disoriented.

"Whoa, whoa boss." Fernando said as he steadied Harry. "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, fine. Just a little weak now and then." Harry replied. He noticed Anna had a look of worry on her face before it quickly passed. Fernando followed his gaze and smirked. "Yeah, you know you scared the _'meirda'_ out of us screaming like that especially Anna." He scrunched up his face in thought. "I could have sworn she was cryin-_ofhpm-_"

His words were cut off as Anna drove her fist into his gut and pulled his hair back. She stared at Harry. "Would you like me to dispose of him, my lord?" She voice subdued but she was twitching slightly.

"_Nah_, he's pretty useful sometimes, besides can you guys cut it out? This isn't exactly a low-profile. Can you just imagine what Guus would do to us if he saw us acting like this?" He shuddered involuntarily.

"I apologize, my lord." Anna said as she quickly let go. "Yeah, sorry." Fernando mumbled as he soothed his aching scalp.

"Come on, we got five minutes until we need to meet with our contacts in England and then, finally I can find out what the hell is wrong with me."

Yesterday, they had left the stadium immediately after the match but not before swiping their well-deserved medals from the hands of the judges. He awoke to find himself staring at the three concerned faces of his companions. He briefly explained about the pain he felt after the match and about the sensation he felt in his magic. "_It was as if something was trying to rip away my magic but whatever it is, it feels like the source is coming from England._" He said. Now, Gustav had arranged for them to meet his contacts in Britain. For some odd reason, Gustav had refused to follow them to England, stating that _"It's not time for me to return yet, kiddos." _before cackling madly.

The three of them quickly apparated to _'Belgo Noord'_, a muggle pub in the middle of the London's central business district. This was the place where they were supposed to meet Gustav's associates.

"We have a booking in room twelve." Harry said as he approached the bartender.

"Second floor, third door on your right." He grunted.

They walked in a sedated pace as they scanned the patrons of the slightly dank pub. They were a contrast among these people, with them wearing suits and all.

"Reckon we go in armed?" Harry asked as he reached the top of the stairs. "That's what Guus would have done to us right? Get your guard down and-" _'WHAM'_ Harry smacked his fist against his palm. "You're hanging upside down on a sixty foot tree." He finished with a craze look in his eyes.

"Yeah, we all remember that boss. So why don't you just relax?" Fernando said calmly and made soothing gestures with his hands. It was then Harry realized that he was waving his handgun around wildly during his rant. Luckily, there was no one in the hallway beside them.

'When did I take out my gun?' He briefly wondered.

"Right. Anna, you go in _'blind' _and knock them out on my signal. Fernando, you follow my lead. Ready?" Harry asked as he leaned against the door, one hand resting on his wand and the other his handgun. He mouthed to the others.

'3'

'2'

'1'

_'SLAM'_ The door rattled violently as Harry kicked it.

"Gerard?" Harry asked as he blocked the door.

Vaguely, he heard Fernando whisper behind him. "_Boss, Anna can't go through cause you're in the way. Besides, I can't see with you blocking me."_

"Astoria?" He asked again and used his handgun to scratch his head. He stood there contemplating the situation for a moment before his brain finally caught up. He smiled and in one swift motion, pushed back his handgun and wand back into their holsters.

"Astoria." He greeted warmly as he moved to hug her. Soon, he was crushed against her 'feminine wiles'.

'Those were good times.' He thought. He realized that he was now taller than her. He mentally cheered. These past six years had indeed been a blessing. "Astoria, you still look amazing." He gushed as Astoria blushed. "You look so beautiful, you give the sun a reason to shine." He smiled disarmingly.

"Harry." He heard Fernando hissed. "They could be imposters under polyjuice, remember that time in Germany when Guus…you know? That girl who we thought was hot? Don't make me repeat the lesson we learned that day."

"Nonsense, Fernando. Polyjuice Potion can never capture the real beauty of Astoria."

Astoria chuckled mirthlessly and patted his cheeks. "Never a dull day with you, Harry. You've really grown into a fine young man an-" She was cut off by Fernando.

"You never know who might hit on you or who you're hitting on and then _-BAM-_, you find out that-"

Harry quickly put his hand over his mouth and hissed into his ear. "Don't talk about **his **lessons around regular folks." He proceeded to clear his throat. "Sorry, Fernando here is a **little **paranoid so do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Seeing them both shake their heads, he racked his brain for a question. "Oh, uhm. What was the book that Daphne showed me the night you left Italy?" He asked.

"_Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen."_ They said together.

"Right, happy Fernando?" Fernando merely grunted. "Anna, it's clear. You can come out now." He added.

A shimmer displace the air behind Astoria and Anna suddenly appeared, wand in hand pointed at Astoria's neck. She quickly put it back into her holster.

"Sorry. Security risk and all." She mumbled as she moved to stand behind Harry.

"Right. By the way, these are my friends, Fernando Del Toro and Anna Ivanovic. And guys, these are Gerard and Astoria Greengrass."

Fernando raised an eyebrow. "_Ah_, the family consigliere. It is an honour, sir." He said as he bowed his head slightly.

"The honour is mine, Mr. Del Toro." Gerard cleared his throat. "Harry, if you would stop flirting with my wife, we could get this meeting started. There is a lot to be covered." He scowled playfully.

"Right, sorry." Harry smiled sheepishly. "I suppose you already know what's wrong with me?" Gerard nodded. "Well, that can wait for now. First we need to be brought up to speed on the major events in Wizarding England."

Gerard smirked. "I see Gustav's training had instilled some sense into you. Well, you are right in thinking about the backstory first. That is why I brought this." He said as he pulled out a number of newspaper cutting from the _'Daily Prophet'_. "Granted they're not exactly the most reliable source but still enough to get an idea on things."

"In 1991, Wizarding England found out that the 'Boy-Who-Lived' had been missing for over a year when he was taken away by the muggle government. The Ministry had started a probe into the allegations of the suspected abuse but sadly, it appears that your relatives had moved away from Privet Drive and their current location is unknown. They quickly dropped the investigation since they didn't want to waste Fudge's _'contribution money'_ on such a trivial manner."

Astoria cut in. "It appears that the people of England chose to forget about you, Harry. Of course, there were several that opposed this and wanted the findings to continue. Sadly, under the repeated slander against you from Minister Fudge, the people agreed with Fudge that you have outweighed your usefulness since they believed that Voldemort had indeed died that fateful night."

"Wait." Harry said. "You're thinking that Voldemort didn't really die?" He scrunched up his face in thought. "Right, that does sound logical. Since when has my life ever been easy?" He chuckled sadly and turned towards Fernando. "We need to nip this guy in the bud. Like that time when that idiot overlord who tried to- I mean the time we went to Disneyland." He finished lamely. "Wasn't that fun?" He pretended to sigh wistfully and shared a meaningful look with Fernando.

"Yeah, it was boss. Those were some of the best childhood memories I-" Fernando was abruptly cut off by Astoria.

"Harry, I am not a child and I am insulted that you wanted to sugar-coat it to me." She said angrily. "Now, I demand that you finish what you were about to say, young man and then we'll talk about plans to go to Disneyland later."

"Sorry Astoria." Harry ducked his head and mumbled. "What I meant to say was that time when we er- _silenced _an overlord in Argentina." He chose his words carefully ."Yeah, he calls himself the _'Evil Overlord of the World'_." He snickered as he did quotation mark gestures with his hands.

'Not anymore.' He thought. "So what happened next?" He asked.

"Well everything started to return to normal after all the ruckus died down, Daphne started her first year at Hogwarts and did exceptionally well." Gerard said proudly. "The next year was generally quiet except for some rumours about your whereabouts. In 1993, that was when all the events started to unravel." He paused.

"A Hogwarts professor by the name of Quirrel was killed at Hogwarts. The details are sketchy but rumours said that he had try to steal the Philosopher stone which was conveniently hidden in the school. No doubt Dumbledore's doing but two third year Gryffindor students managed to stop him. Or they tried. Turns out that he was mauled to death by a Cerberus which again was conveniently hidden in the school." He finished sarcastically. "Now here's the kicker. It was rumoured that Quirrel was in fact possessed by Voldemort." He banged on the table for effect.

"You mean Voldemort managed to sneak into Hogwarts and Dumbledore didn't even notice? Either he's that good or Dumbledore's really lost his edge." Fernando mumbled.

"Yeah, he has. People are thinking that he's gone senile but really, might just be one big act." Astoria said.

"On with the story. In 1994, there was an incident where the _'Chamber of Secrets'_ was reopened, a rumoured chamber built by one of the founders, Salazar Slytherin. It was said that inside the chamber lies an ancient and mythical creature that has never been seen since the 9th century. The one who claimed responsibility for reopening this chamber, 'the heir' promised that it would cleanse the world of all muggle-borns and half-blood. This reopening of the chamber is pretty much a big deal because a similar event occurred in the past where a muggle-born student died. Fortunately, the only attack was on a caretaker's cat and the following week, Dumbledore proclaimed that such attacks would not happen again. Turns out he was right." Gerard explained.

Astoria cut in. "If those attacks continued, we would have sufficient reason to take away his position as Headmaster. However, the sheep of Wizarding England still saw him as their saviour and instead of being angry; they celebrated his triumph over this supposed 'heir' even when he didn't release any details."

"Any idea as to what the supposed creature is?" Anna asked.

Astoria and Gerard turned to look at each other and spoke in unison. "A basilisk."

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa_. This Hogwarts starting to sound pretty dangerous. I mean given the proper circumstances, I'm sure the three of us can take that thing but come on, that basilisk is hidden in a _'pinche' _school with little dios mio, qué es ese hombre que hace_?"_ Fernando mumbled in Spanish.

"You know, I wonder if that thing will listen to me. It'd be cool if I can control a basilisk to do my bidding. _Feed, my precious, feed. Together, we shall rule the world_." He hissed the last part in Parseltongue and cackled madly.

"Yes." Gerard coughed slightly. "Anyway, do you remember me telling you about how Sirius Black betrayed your parents and lead them to their deaths?" Harry nodded slowly. "Well, last year he escaped from Azkaban."

"What!" Harry snarled and jumped to his feet simultaneously pulling out his wands. "The rat managed to escape prison _eh_? All the better for-"

"HARRY." Astoria shouted at him. "Sit down and let Gerard finish the story or so help me…" Harry obeyed like a meek child and ducked his head down. Astoria always had that effect on him, in her own way; she was almost as scary as Gustav.

"Well, that was almost the same reaction Daphne said the school had when he suddenly barged into the great hall during breakfast. That and several girlish screams." He chuckled at his own joke. "Turns out he was wrestling with a man on the floor, one Peter Pettigrew."

"Wait-" Harry sighed and rubbed his temples. "Didn't you tell me he was killed by Black unless _–oh_…" It finally dawned on him.

"It appears that Pettigrew faked his own death and framed this Black person?" Anna asked.

"Yes. When the Aurors finally arrived at Hogwarts, both men were bound to chairs in the middle of Hogwarts waiting to be given the Veritaserum. Apparently, Sirius Black had nothing to do with your parents' death and he was not the secret keeper for the Potters. They had made a last minute switch with Pettigrew, who had betrayed them to his master, Voldemort."

"So let me get this straight. Black didn't betray my parents because he wasn't the secret keeper and Pettigrew was the one who_ 'snitched'_ on us? But then how did he fake his own death? You told me Black blew up a whole street." Harry asked.

"Well, it appears that Pettigrew was an animagus, a rat animagus. He cut his own finger, used an advanced blasting curse on the street and escaped through the sewers as a rat." Astoria answered him.

Fernando chuckled. "You mean to tell me that the rat was a _'rat'_? What happened to him anyway?"

"He was given the Dementor's Kiss about five months ago but that's not the end of it." Astoria paused for effect. "He told us that Voldemort had indeed risen again. It appears that sometime during his stay at Hogwarts, he managed to seek out his master and helped him regain a new body. He has used one of the darkest black magic rituals to revive Voldemort."

She pushed a newspaper article to Harry. The headline read _'Ministry Official Bertha Jorkins missing, presumed dead.'_

"They used her body in the ritual." Gerard said. "I knew her back in my Hogwarts days. A few years older than me, a Gryffindor but underneath all the gossip and whining, she was quite a dueler if you compared her to the rest of the cohort."

"If Pettigrew revived Voldemort, why didn't he stay by his side? Why would he return back to Hogwarts where he could be captured?" Anna asked.

"Information. Voldemort wanted information about the on goings in Hogwarts and Dumbledore, but mostly about you, Harry. Pettigrew had assimilated himself as a pet rat for sixteen or so years, no one would ever think twice about a rat listening in to a conversation."

"Well for one thing, where are all of the articles on the return of Voldemort?" Fernando asked as he shuffled through the clippings. "What has he been doing for the past year?"

"To answer your question, Fudge has been downplaying Voldemort's return. He calmed the public by stating that Pettigrew had suffered some sort of mental imbalance because he had stayed as an animagus for so long. He has the _Daily Prophet_ under his thumb so they print out any rubbish he says." Gerard explained. "Also, we believe that Voldemort is currently bidding his time until you are found, Harry."

"Why hasn't this gone through to Guus yet? We could have killed him sooner. The time passed would have already given him a chance to regroup his followers and coordinate future attacks." Harry pulled his hair in frustration.

Gerard stood up abruptly. "You think you're ready to take him on? No, I've already told Alphonso and even he realizes that you are not ready. Voldemort has over sixty years of magical training and knowledge while you've had six. Now, I know you have improved but do not get complacent. Your over-confidence may lead to your death, think Harry!" Gerard told him sternly.

To Harry, it had felt like a slap to the face. He had put everything he had into the past six years under Gustav. More so, it was like a wake-up call, he realized that he was indeed getting complacent. Over the past few missions, he did rile his opponents just so he could beat them down because he was so sure of his abilities.

"You want to know why Vongola XII died? It was because he didn't think. That damn idiot was too damn cavalier over everything that he had to charge at every single thing head first. I loved that man as a brother but _Goddamnit!-_" Gerard banged his fist on the table. "I wished that he used that bloody brain of his and I'll be damned if I see you repeat his mistake." Gerard was now panting slightly, catching his breath after his emotional rant.

"Perhaps it would be prudent to finish the story?" Anna asked quietly, trying to diverting the tense atmosphere.

"Yes, I do believe Anna is right dear." Astoria said as she tugged her husband's sleeve. "Sit down." She hissed. "Now, onto the reason why you're here right now." She paused and took a breath. "This year at Hogwarts, they have restarted the Triwizard Tournament, it's a competition between three European schools; Beaubaxton, Durmstrang and Hogwarts. Each school will have their own representative, a Triwizard champion. The tournament consists of a series of tasks to test their champion in several different ways; their magical prowess, daring, power of deduction and the ability to cope with danger. This tournament is pretty much a big deal right now it was disbanded in 1792 after the increasing death toll of the champions."

"As to the reason you're here." Gerard cut in and pulled a letter from his suit. "A letter from Daphne."

Harry immediately brightened.

_Father_

_No time for small talk, Harry's name just came out of the Goblet of Fire. I don't know how that idiot managed to get in past the age barriers even when he's half-way across the world somewhere. Trust him always to get himself in trouble. I don't know how his name came out but there's this really crazy Defence professor by the name of 'Mad-eye' Moody. Anyway, does this mean he's returning early now?_

_I've got to go now, Leon's calling me._

_Love_

_Daphne  
_

_P.S: Tracy says 'hi'_

As Harry read the letter, he circled through a number of emotions; pure giddiness that Daphne had wrote his first name, confusion over what the Goblet is and finally, rage when he read the part about 'Leon'.

"Who exactly is Leon?" Harry asked in a dangerously calm voice.

Gerard, sensing an opportunity, controlled his emotions and said in a level tone. "Leon? Oh that's just the boy Daphne been seeing for, I don't know, maybe a year? Nice lad, we've met him when he stayed over at the manor during the past summer. Astoria is completely smitten with him." Gerard chuckled. "Even brought him along for shopping."

Out of nowhere, Harry suddenly had his handgun in his hand as he fingered it slowly. "Nice lad eh? What about his family? Anybody gonna miss him if he were to suddenly disappear? Better yet, I should pay him a visit and _'ask' _a few question-"

"Honestly Harry." Astoria cut in. "Leon is the cat that you gave to her last Christmas and put that gun away." She cleared her throat. "If you'll let me continue with the explanation?"

Harry smiled sheepishly and mumbled. "Sorry."

"The tournament chooses its competitors based on the Goblet of Fire, a very powerful magical artefact. No one knows how exactly it chooses the champion but all you have to do is put your name in the Goblet. Yesterday, during the Halloween feast, they announced the names of the representatives of each school. However, as you've read the letter, your name came out as the fourth champion." She said.

Gerard continued. "Now, we're not exactly sure how it happened but we believe that it was some crazy plot by Dumbledore to bring you back. Well, he succeeded all right. The Goblet is a magically binding contract and if you don't compete, you'll lose your magic. Asides from the fact that you've haven't taken your OWLs examination, Dumbledore has every right to make you stay in Hogwarts."

"So what you're trying to say is I'm screwed, yes?" Harry asked before his head landed on the table with a_ 'thump'_. "This is great, I think. I'm not sure about going to school and all but at least I get to see Daphne right?" His voice muffled. "You sure there's no way out of this?"

"No." Astoria said sympathetically. "We're sorry but unless you want to lose your magic, you're gonna have to go to Hogwarts."

Across from Harry, Fernando paled. "You me-mean we have to go to school?" He stuttered. "Boss, I can't go to school, I've never been to school and-" He blanched. "What the hell do you do for fun in a school? I mean our type of fun."

"There's been two attempts by dark wizards to attack Hogwarts, not to mention there's a basilisk there." Anna added quietly.

The two boys immediately perked up. "That does sound cool." The said in unison.

"But still, school? I mean we're going to be doing homework and learn stuff while we're sitting on a desk. Didn't Guus say that _we learn better by doing_?" Fernando said.

"Well unless you want to leave me to suffer alone to lead a normal life, you don't have to come." Harry retorted hoping that he would fall for the guilt trip. "I mean it's not my fault some idiot entered me into this tournament. It's not like I-"

"All right, all right stop with the guilt trip, boss. I never said I wasn't going. I just complained about going, that's all."

"Good." Harry smiled at him. "Always knew you had my back. Like Anna, right?" Seeing Anna nod, he clapped his hands together. "Excellent. Is there anything else I need to know?"

"You should know that I've already sent a letter to the Headmaster stating that you and your friends will be attending Hogwarts from now on and to let him prepare for your arrival during dinner tonight." Gerard said.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You didn't wait for our decision?"

Gerard smirked. "Harry, I know how your mind works, you'd never refused anything if Daphne was somehow involved right?"

Harry chuckled. "You think you got me figured out, huh?. Anyway, we should get going now since it's almost dinnertime. We Vongolas always have to make a flashy entrance, you know."

As the three moved to leave, Astoria gave them each a hug. (Which again freaked Anna out as she already pulled out her wand from the holster.) "You be careful now, young man and no threatening your schoolmates with bodily harm if they annoy you."

Harry gave a constipated face and groaned out. "I'll try."

They apparated to Hogsmeade as soon as they reached an alley behind the pub. They landed outside another pub called 'The Three Broomsticks'.

'What a sight for sore eyes' Harry thought. He whistled to capture their attention. "Oi, I'm gonna buy a round to commemorate our new prison term." The three quickly entered the dinghy pub and took seats at the counter.

"What'll ya have?" The proprietor asked.

"Yeah, three shots of Firewhiskey." Harry answered.

The woman gave them a sceptical look. "You sure you're old enough?"

Harry chuckled and gave a dazzling smile. "Madam, if we aren't old enough, then why aren't we in school right now but I thank you for your not-so-subtle compliment for saying I look young."

The woman blushed. "Ye-yes, I'll get you your drinks right away." She stammered. She quickly took out three shot glasses and poured the Firewhiskey. The glass rattled as the liquid bubbly uncontrollably before it died down.

"A toast. Here's to us for having to suffer so much for too long, first it was Guus and now it's having to_-ah-_ screw it just drink the damn thing." Harry said before he quickly downed the Firewhiskey. Steam shot out of his ears and Harry had to control himself not to vomit out the offending liquid. "Oh god." He gasped. He didn't why he wanted to drink so much. Out of the three of them, he was the worst at holding his liquor. Surprisingly, it was Anna who was the best, even Firewhiskey didn't even faze her a little.

"I hate this tradition of yours to drink whenever we have to do stupid things. We do _-hic-_ a lot of stupid things, boss." Fernando said.

"Shut upp." Harry slurred. "What I do is none of my business, wait wait. None of **your** business." It was amazing how such a small amount of alcohol can intoxicate him. If he were sober right now, he'd be cursing his inability to drink but…"And one day, when my son's son goes through the same thing as me, he'll look back and think about what-" Harry was cut off by a shout.

"HARRY?"

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A/N: Pretty sure that's all for today...at least.


	9. Chapter IX

A/N: Yeah, changed some stuff around the last few chapters, thanks for pointing it out. And about the grammar and spelling mistakes, well I'm only one person with two hands with five project deadlines to meet within two weeks. Cut me some slack and could you point it out so I know what to check next time. Either, Word's spell checker isn't that good or you're American and I'm weaving in and out between American English and British English.

Oh, just to clarify...about the apparation thing, I didn't really want to state that they apparated to Hogsmeade, walked the path back to the school and finally reach the office. I just shortened it besides, I did put in _'had been holding it in for ten minutes since leaving the Dursleys'_ I thought you'd be able to understand the reason for the time gap.

Furthermore, I just finished editing this chapter only to click on another weblink, an hour and hard work gone. But still thanks for the reviews.

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Chapter IX

November 1 1996

Hogsmeade Village, Scotland

"Cheer up Sirius." Remus Lupin pleaded with his on-again best friend.

"I don't _-hic-_ wanna." Sirius Black whined pitifully from his position where his head was cradle in his arms on the table. Today, like every Monday, subsequent Wednesday and of course, who could forget Sunday was their weekly_ 'Whine-About-Harry-And-Drink-Yourself-Stupid'_ night but of course it was more than just once a week.

They had started this tradition when Sirius had found out about Harry's disappearing act from Privet Drive. It was especially unpleasant when Sirius berated Dumbledore right in front of the entire school last year. Still, being sentence wrongly to Azkaban had it perks like; the ten million Galleons in compensation or like how the Ministry would bend over backwards to meet Sirius's every demand. That was how he had gained back guardianship over Harry and persuaded them to keep this information away from the public with only Dumbledore, the Inheritance Department at Gringotts and a certain number of key officials allowed to know.

Remus sighed as he watched his friend drink his woes away. They had indeed done almost everything to find Harry. Every lead, no matter how ridiculous it sounds, like that time when they heard that he was a tyrant dictating over Wizarding Vietnam. Yesterday, when they heard that Harry was chosen as the _'fourth'_ champion, they had hoped that he would return or at least be given some sign that Harry was still alive.

Remus sipped his tea disguised as Firewhiskey, he never did like to drink that much. He flipped through the newly published _'Dueling Circuit Monthly'_ (an obscure publication in Wizarding England) trying to find the cover story of the European Dueling Championship. He had heard what a great final that was.

Vaguely, he heard the chime of the door signalling someone had entered. He paused and sniffed the air. That smell was vaguely familiar but for the life of him, he couldn't remember from where.

'_Eh'_ He thought as he shrugged his shoulders and continued to read the article. It describe in amazing detail about the final match between Fernando Del Toro and Harrison Evans. Even the judges proclaimed that _'it was one of the most memorable match they had ever seen.'_

Remus wished that he could have been there yesterday. Sadly it was _'Drinking Sunday'_ with Sirius. He continued to scan the article but stopped when he came across a picture of the two finalists. 'This kid reminds me of James.' He thought. 'Evans! Lily Evans! So, Harrison Evans must be…'

"HARRY?" Remus half-shouted and examined the picture closely. "_Huh_?" Came Sirius's intelligent response as he lifted his head. "Where's Harry?" He said, immediately sober.

Shoving the magazine at Sirius's face, he said "Right here, doesn't this kid look just like James when he was-"

"What?!" A slightly annoyed yet slurred tone echoed throughout the pub. Both men slowly turned their head to the new patrons. A scowling black haired, green eyes teenager stared back at them.

"Well?" He drawled.

*~*~*~*~*

"Well?" Harry asked the two gentlemen sitting in the far corner booth. "You called, I answered." His words slightly slurry. The next thing he realized, the two men had rushed over to him with open arms, crying out 'HARRY!'

Harry acting on instincts, flipped the black haired man over his shoulders and kicked the other man in the gut. Both men dropped to the floor with a loud _'thud' _and groaned weakly. Harry knelt down with Fernando and Anna at his side as they pointed their wands at the two men.

"Gentlemen, I don't take kindly to people attacking me. So tell me, why shouldn't I just kill you?" He whispered dangerously.

"Boss." Fernando cut in excitedly.

"What?" Harry asked annoyed that Fernando had ruined such a perfect tense and dangerous atmosphere.

"Look." He said as he picked up a magazine on the floor. "They have a picture of us in this thing." He examined it closer. "I look good." He mumbled.

"What?" Harry asked, aghast. Immediately, he rushed over to Fernando and read over his shoulder, the two men clearly forgotten as they groaned weakly on the floor. "I guess it's lucky that you can't really see my face. Why didn't I use a glamour charm?" Harry mumbled.

"Perhaps my lord, we should deal with these two gentlemen on the floor first." Anna asked.

"Fine." He grumbled.

*~*~*~*~*~*

'_Thud'_

The sound of both men's back being slammed against the brick wall. They were currently in the alley besides the Three Broomsticks. "All right-" Harry growled menacingly to the black haired man as he pinned him against the wall by the neck. "Mind telling me who sent you? We can do this the easy way or-"

"Boss." Fernando interrupted him. "Amber eyes." He pulled the man's chin to face Harry. "He's a werewolf." He snarled as he unsheathed his sword and held it close against the man's neck. "One wrong move and you are done for, _creature_."

"Who sent you? Was it the pack from Romania?" Harry asked as he slammed the man's head against the wall. "I keep telling your leader that it was a damn mistake. I didn't sleep with his daughter and like hell I'm gonna get married to her!"

"Godfather…friend…good…don't kill…" The black haired man tried to speak. Harry released his hold on the man's neck slightly. The man took a deep breath. "Don't kill him. We're not from Romania, we're from **here**." He said hurriedly. "He good werewolf, don't kill him." The man whined and dropped to the floor, sobbing.

"_Uhm_, Fernando, why don't you release that guy. I don't think these guys are from Romania." Harry said as he turned towards Fernando. "I doubt that they're sent here to kill us."

Fernando quickly sheathed his sword and the three of them took a step back and examined the two men closely. Then, the black haired man snickered. "Knew that would work." He mumbled before he stood up; no signs of tears on his face. "As I was about to say before you tried to killed Remy over there-" He nodded his head to the pale werewolf. "I'm Sirius Black, your godfather. Your parents; Lily and James were our closest friends."

"Remus Lupin." The brown haired man said from his position on the floor.

"Oh right, the ex-con." Fernando mumbled and he narrowed his eyes. "Why did you try to attack us in the pub?"

"A HUG!" Remus exclaimed as he stood up. "It's called a hug, never heard of it? Our best friends' son just came back from-" He paused. "Where were you anyway?"

Harry ignored the question and surreptitiously used Legilimency on the Black fellow. He encountered some solid shields, nothing he couldn't handle given time but surprisingly, the shields vanished. He quickly scanned the man's memory and backed out.

"Thanks for dropping the shields, Mr. Black." Harry said. "Made my work a lot easier."

"Call me Sirius. Mr. Black makes me sound old." Sirius said. "You are old." Remus muttered in the background. Sirius chose to ignore the man.

"Anna?" Harry asked.

"Lupin's clean." She replied.

Remus eyebrows rose. "Did you- did you just look into my mind? I didn't even feel anything." He asked astonishedly.

"I'm good at what I do." She mumbled before moving to stand behind Harry.

"Wait-" Remus cut in. "You guys don't have a problem with me being a werewolf? Your friend called me a creature and all." He said nervously.

"Sorry about that, heat of the moment and all." Fernando smiled sheepishly. "We're fine with werewolves in general as long as you don't try to kill us."

"_Uhm_, I'm sure you want to talk about stuff and all but can we talk while we walk to Hogwarts? We're going to be late for our dramatic entrance." Harry said as he glanced at his watch.

"Dramatic?" Sirius brightened. "I like your way of thinking. Oi Remy, want to crash Hogwart's dinner party?"

"Sure why not?" Remus muttered. "You just made up your mind for the both of us."

Sirius ignored the man again. "By the way Harry, nice suit. You three look really spiffy." He said as he eyed the three of them, his eyes lingered longer on Anna.

Remus sighed as he caught the look on Sirius's face. "She looks sixteen Sirius, even in Wizarding England, I'm pretty sure that's like under the age of cons-"

Sirius quickly shushed him. "Remus, ixnay on the upidstay uufstay."

"Dude, we understand what you're saying." Fernando deadpanned.

Masterfully changing the subject, Sirius put his arm around Fernando's shoulder. "That is one heck of an awesome sword you have strapped to your back. By the way, I never really got your name…_and hers."_ He whispered the last part.

The group trekked up the path leading to Hogwarts. On the way, Harry gave some rather vague explanations about his past. He couldn't really talk about it since he have only met them a few minutes prior but at least he realized these two did some way or another care for him as they recanted their tales about visiting Wizarding Vietnam.

'We weren't really in Vietnam that long anyway.' He thought.

As they reached the gates to the school, Harry and his two companions looked nonplussed at the castle. "I've heard how Gerard described the school but to actually see this place for myself, all I can say that this place…_sucks_." Fernando deadpanned.

Remus gasped at his statement and he quickly lectured both Anna and Fernando on the extravagant history of Hogwarts. Harry had remained behind to speak with Sirius. "So, you're my magical guardian now? How'd that happened, I thought Dumbledore had it?"

'Gerard must be getting sloppy.' He briefly wondered.

Sirius growled. "I got _'slightly'_ mad after I learned that he placed you with Lily's sister and I contested his guardianship over you. Well, the ministry was more than forthcoming with my demand." He paused. "You know, it actually was supposed to be given to me when your parents died but-" His cheery attitude vanished replaced by a melancholy one.

He stopped Harry by his shoulders. "You are going to explain to me and Remus about what happened these past sixteen years right? What I'm trying to say is that, I used to be an Auror before Azkaban and I recognize that look in your eyes, Harry. They say that _'your eyes are the window to your soul'_." He looked at Harry nervously. "You were ready to kill us weren't you? I know you've just met us and all but-"

Harry cut him off and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about the misunderstanding. It's just we were taught since we were young to be cautious." He twitched slightly. "It's better to be safe than sorry right? Anyway, my _situation_ is kind of complicated to explain. Sure, when the time is right, you'll find out about it from me personally. I wouldn't want to insult my parent's memory by denying their friends to get to-" Harry was in turn cut off when Sirius pulled him into a tight hug.

"Don't worry Sirius, I'll explain to you and your partner in time." Harry said as he patted his godfather's back.

"Partner?" Sirius asked.

"You two are _'close'_ right?" Harry pretended to stammer. "I mean not that there's anything wrong with that. It's just weird, what with you two hanging round each other ever since you got released."

Sirius gaped at him. "I'm n-not gay." He stammered before he regained his composure. "I am most definitely not gay." He half-shouted and stomped his foot on the ground before rushing forward to Anna's side. He tried to put his arm around her shoulder but before he could do so, Anna had her wand and handgun pointed at his forehead and heart respectively.

"Don't touch me." She said softly.

Sirius paled and stuttered. "I wasn't going to t-touch you, there was this huge, _uh- _HUGE bug on your back." He held his hands up as he moved back quickly and tried to hide behind Harry. "How did she get a gun?" He whispered.

Harry looked amused. "Trade secrets. Besides, I forgot to tell you that Anna doesn't like to be touched but now you know." He shrugged as he entered the huge entrance to the castle. He quickly pulled Anna and Fernando aside to the corner of the entrance hall, leaving the two men to look on with interest.

"Group huddle." He said before they huddled close. "Alright, first things first, Since I haven't become of age yet, we need to keep quiet about this whole Vongola heir stuff. So from now on, no calling me _boss_ or _my lord_. Not that I've ever wanted you anyways."

Anna still had a blank look on her face and she whispered. "What are we suppose to call you?"

"Harry. Well, if any of you know any good insults, just throw it at me." He chuckled before turning serious. "But really don't call me boss, is that clear?"

"Yes boss." "Yes, my lord." Came two separate replies.

Harry scowled. "We've got to work on that. Okay second, I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention while in Hogwarts so we have to blend in and appear to be normal sixteen year olds." He made a pained face. "That means no handguns or swords unless they're disguised properly, I don't want any students freaking out. _-Ouh_- and I suppose deaths threats are fine but no killing,_ period_." He looked pointedly at Anna. "Is that clear Anna?"

"Yes, my lo- Harry." Anna said with a pained face.

He chuckled. "So I'm yours now?" Anna still gave him a blank look. Harry started to breathe deeply as he thought about the ramifications of coming to Hogwarts. 'Daphne's going to be in there.' He thought as he looked at the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Uhm Harry, are you having a panic attack?" Fernando asked.

"Daphne…here…Hogwarts…Nervous…Six years…" He said between breaths.

"A girl, _huh_?" Sirius asked as he approached the group. "She hot?"

"Yes." Harry hissed. "Don't you think otherwise, she's the most-"

Anna cut in. "Perhaps we should focus on the main thing at hand." Harry nodded. He jerked his head towards Sirius and Remus. "You two, join the huddle."

Sirius snickered. "I've never been part of a group huddle for so long. Reminds me back when we were Marauders and–"

"I don't think the kids want us here for your stories, Sirius." Remus cut in. "All right, what do you guys need?" He asked eagerly.

"Okay first, what does Dumbledore look like?" Fernando asked.

"_Eh-_ tall, thin, old, white beard and weird robes." Remus shrugged. "Basically everything you thought Merlin would look like."

"How do we get sorted?" Anna asked.

"Hehe, that's a school secret. Reminds me of my first year when we were sorted but-" Sirius leaned closer to the huddle. "Hint, hint. You may have to fight a troll." He whispered conspiratorially and gave them a deliberate wink.

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "Consiglierei il numero di formazione quattro." He said in Italian before Anna and Fernando nodded.

Sirius looked appraisingly at Harry. "When did you learn French? You know chicks dig French accents." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Harry scowled at him. "It's Italian and you tend to pick these things up when you've been **around** as much as we have. One last thing, where do the Slytherim's sit?" He asked.

"That's Slytherin, Harry." Remus corrected him. "Their table is at the far left of the Great Hall as you enter it."

Harry nodded. 'Don't look to the left. Don't look to the left. Don't freak out and don't look to the left.' He told himself repeatedly.

"Why?" Sirius asked as he narrowed his eyes at Harry who was currently spacing out.

"The girl he loves is in Slytherin." Fernando deadpanned. "Oi, moviamo." He said to the other two as they advanced on the door to the Great Hall.

"Ready?" Harry asked. Seeing the nods, he quickly pulled out his right wand and sent a banishing charm at the huge doors. It slammed open with a loud _'BANG'_, before they quickly moved in wands raised, only to find no trolls inside the hall instead a hall full of stunned students and teachers looking at them.

'At least, it's a dramatic entrance.' Harry thought before he scowled and turned back to Sirius who now was laughing as he entered the hall. "I thought you said we had to fight a troll."

Sirius laughed harder. "That…was…supposed…to be a…joke." He said in between laughter. "I didn't expect you to believe me. You didn't actually think that you had to fight a troll, did you? How could you possibly win?"

Fernando smiled darkly. "A troll is the least of our worries, Black." Fernando said as he holstered his wand. "We found out how easy it was to** kill** one." His voice carried out through the silent hall essentially freaking out the entire school.

Sirius paled and stammered. "W-what?"

They ignored him as they turned back to look at the man who really did resemble what they thought Merlin would look like. Dumbledore merely sat on his throne, calmly sipping his tea.

"Hello, Headmaster." Harry said casually as he reached the staff table.

"I've been expecting you, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore said as his eyes twinkled brightly.

"So you've received my letter? _Tsk, tsk._ Such a terrible thing to happen, don't you think?" He said as he shook his head.

Dumbledore tensed slightly. "Yes, it is. Perhaps it would be best if we were to continue our conversation in my office?" He asked politely, but it was more of a statement than a question.

Harry chuckled. "Nonsense, I've just travelled half-way across the world to enrol-" He eyed the magical ceiling in the great hall with interest. "here. Perhaps it would be prudent if you allow me and my companions to be sorted first? And maybe a quick dinner before we continue with our discussions?"

Dumbledore nodded his head sagely. "Of course, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore slowly pulled out a piece of folded parchment from his robes and gave it to him. Upon receiving the parchment, Harry felt the presence that was trying to rip away his magic disappear, meaning that the magical binding contract had been consummated. "I believe you already know the circumstances behind-"

Harry cut him off. "Yes and I believe we shall have a talk about who was behind this **little plot**." He looked pointedly at Dumbledore whose twinkle diminished slightly. In the background, he heard a man grumble in a slightly slavic accent. _'Two Hogwarts champions…conspiracy…damn Dumbledore'._

Harry unfolded the parchment, only to find blood smeared on it. He scrunched up his face in thought. 'How did Dumbledore managed to get my blood?' He smiled politely. "Thank you, Headmaster. I believe we have to be sorted now?"

Harry glanced at a man, sitting to Dumbledore's right. He had slightly greasy black hair and black eyes. When their eyes met, the man sneered at him and mumbled under his breath. "Just like his arrogant father."

Harry smiled back cheerfully as he heard the man mumble something about his father. "You a friend of my dad's? Like them?" He jerked his head to Sirius and Remus as they approached the staff table. This seemed to enrage the man who looked like we was about to hyperventilate.

"Sup Albus?" Sirius deadpanned. "You don't mind if we crash dinner do you?" He cut Dumbledore off. "Great. I would just love to see my godson being sorted." He quickly jumped off the steps and hurried to the table to his far left as he shouted _'GRYFFINDORS HO!'_ Remus followed at a sedated pace as he shook his head at his friend's antics.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please?" Dumbledore asked; which was redundant since everyone had already been watching the scene before them with great interest. Some students were straining their neck trying to catch the conversation between Dumbledore and the mysterious new guests.

"I am pleased to say that this year; we are graced with three new students here at Hogwarts. So without much further ado, I would like you to welcome Harry Potter." He finished without acknowledging the other two.

Loud gasps and whispers broke out between the students in the hall as they conversed about this latest revelation. Harry vaguely noticed a red headed girl fainted while those sitting around her ignored her in favour of gaping at him.

"We're here too, you know." Fernando mumbled sadly. Harry sympathetically patted his shoulders. "It's okay, I'm just a big deal round here."

Dumbledore continued. "I know it may be unorthodox this time of year but-." He paused and clapped his hands together. Instantly, a stool and a dumpy looking hat appeared in front of the staff table. "Let the sorting begin." He said jovially and handed a scroll to the stern looking witch on his right.

"If you'll follow me." The witch stood up and said as she directed them to stool. She quickly pulled out the scroll and read out. "Del Toro, Fernando."

Fernando scowled as he looked at the stool in front of him. He pulled out his wand and flicked it at the stool and it transfigured into a rather comfy-looking armchair. He took a seat and the witch dumped the hat on his head, annoyed at his rudeness.

Harry's eyes widened slightly when the folds of the hat suddenly moved as if it were lips and barked out "SLYTHERIN." Polite clapping came from the table at the far right of the hall.(A/N; far left as you enter, far right as you face the hall)

Fernando took off the hat and stood to the side of the chair. "Mr. Del Toro, I believe you need to join your new house table." The witch said.

Fernando just smiled politely. "If I may just wait for my friends to be sorted first?"

She nodded and read out the next name. "Ivanovic, Anna."

Anna gracefully took a seat on the armchair. The hat barely touched her head before it bellowed out. "SLYTHERIN." Polite clapping and wolf-whistles came from the students in the hall; Anna just ignored it all and stood beside Fernando.

"Potter, Harry."

Harry just shook his head as he stared at the armchair in front of him. He clicked his tongue before pulling out his wand and waved it in an intricate manner. It transfigured into a throne with rather detailed patterns. He smirked at the scowling Fernando.

He took a seat and smiled cheekily at the stern witch who only huffed in annoyance before a pink tinge appeared on her cheeks. "Amazing detail, Mr. Potter." She said as she admired his work. "If you had a house, I would have given you points already but then again…you don't." Her lips quirked slightly. She moved to place the hat on his head.

Instantly, he felt something slip into his mind and a loud, male voice echoed. _"Well, looks like the 'Boy-Who-Disappeared' has finally reappeared."_ It chuckled. _"Let's see what we have in your mi-"_

Harry quickly brought up his Occlumency shields to try to block the strange presence in his mind. _"What are you?"_ He asked the presence.

"_Me?!"_ It said in disbelief. _"I'm the sorting hat, my dear boy. A magical artefact created by-ah-, screw it. Just go read a book. Look punk, I'm just here to judge your traits and determine which house is the best for you."_

"_Why did uhm-, whoever it is that created you make you into a hat?" _Harry asked curiously. _"Doesn't it get boring sorting 'punks' like me? How do you live as a hat anyway? It doesn't seem very fun." _

"_I ask myself that question every day, kid and I've lived for over a thousand years. Far as I'm concerned, Godric can take his wand and shove it up his ass if he weren't already six feet under. That drunken bastard gave me the ability to think and all I think about is sex. I'm a thousand-year old virgin."_

"_Whoa, I don't want to hear the about your ordeals of sexual frustration. Though, I do sympathize." _Harry said.

It sighed_. "Still, put down your shields before I break them. I don't want to be responsible for breaking your mind, don't think I can't."_

"_Can't you just put me in Slytherin? It'd be a lot easier for the both of us if you'd just agree." _

The hat was silent for almost thirty seconds and Harry still kept his shields up. _"Fine, I don't want to be here longer than necessary. It'd be stupid of me to disagree with the next leader of the Vongola family."_ It chuckled darkly.

Harry's eyes widened. _"You son of a bitch."_ He briefly checked his shields. _"How did you get inside? There's no trace of you by-passing my shields."_

"_I have my ways, Lord Vongola. But seriously, your memories are gonna tide me over for the next fifty years. I usually sort some snot-nosed little punks but yours and that blond kid -Woo-, you guys are pretty sick bastards."_

"_You've seen what I can do. Give me one reason why I shouldn't just silence you now since you know I'm the next Lord Vongola?"_ Harry growled menacingly.

The hat scoffed_. "I've lived for a thousand years. I've seen shit you couldn't even handle. Heck, I've seen Dumbledore naked-"_ Harry blanched_. "But I am bound by whatever the hell kind of magic that made me, to never tell a soul about the things I've seen in a student's mind. If I do so, I'll die. Happy?"_ It asked sarcastically.

Harry clicked his tongue. _"I don't know, you sound like you've been contemplating suicide lately."_ He huffed. "_Fine, but so help me, if you betray my secret, I'll chuck you inside a washing machine and put you on cycle."_

It smirked. (If that was possible) _"Don't freak out now Lord Vongola, because you're going to…_SLYTHERIN." It bellowed out loud. _"Whatever cosmic forces up there have mercy on your enemies, because you surely don't." _It added in his mind.

A stunned silence which was broken by a loud "NOOOOOOO." from Sirius as he repeatedly banged his head on the table. Harry vaguely heard something like _"I've failed you, Jamesy boy."_ He ignored it and pulled out his wand and stabbed it at the throne. It quickly turned back into a stool.

"It's been a pleasure, Madame." He smiled politely to the woman.

"The name's Professor McGonagall, and Mr. Potter… Good luck in Slytherin." She said before letting a small smile grace her lips.

He quickly joined Fernando and Anna before they walked over to the Slytherin table. "It got past your shields too, _huh_?" He asked Fernando who just nodded sadly. He glanced at Anna. "What about you?"

"It said that it was hard to get in and didn't want to bother with something so difficult." She murmured.

Harry chuckled as he turned back to scan the Slytherin table. He passed the familiar black robes of Hogwarts and the occasional red uniform of Durmstrang, who were all sitting there glaring at him. His heart skipped a beat as his eyes connected with a familiar blue.

'Thar she blows.' He thought.

* * *

A/N: Well, that's that....I'm not sure whether I can update the next week but I'll try to try...anyway, please feedback on the matter stated above.


	10. Chapter X

A/N: **Important change**...yes, I have read some of your suggestions and lo and behold- I changed the characters of the Hogwarts and Durmstrang champion. If some of you would like to reread the ending part of chapter seven go ahead, if not;

The champion for Hogwarts will be Johnathan Lescott, a ravenclaw seventh-year student. The champion for Durmstrang will be Gregorio Voronin, Durmstrang seventh-year. Oh, and I decided to not lower the age for entry, it will remain seventeen.

Sorry for all the changes but thanks to Roxoan or something, I have created a slightly more original plot that won't have anything to do with Viktor or Cedric - to be honest, I never really knew what to do with them but with these new OCs; I have a more defined story base for the future chapters.

* * *

Chapter X

November 1 1996

Hogwarts, Scotland

'Thar she blows.' He thought. 'The reason for my existence, my ever present ray of light in the darkness, my lighthouse when I'm trapped in a raging sea, my-'

He was brought out of his musings by Fernando. "Boss, you're staring at her." He whispered.

Without a second thought, he plopped himself down on the seat across the raven-haired girl whose blue eyes were sparkling with amusement, a small quirk on her lips. Harry let a smirk come over his face as he appraised the girl before him. She had changed in these past six years since he had seen her, her body growing out a bit more. Every bit of perfection he could have imagined.

"Hello Daphne, it's been a long time hasn't it?" He asked nonchalantly.

"_Hmmm-_ Yes it has, Potter. I'm surprised that you managed to hold out this long without uttering one of your ridiculous one-liners. Holding it in?" She said seductively as she traced her finger on his hand.

Harry smiled sincerely. "You look beautiful Daphne."

Daphne blushed. "Not like you at all, Potter. I suppose you've grown up these past six years. Never would I imagine that _little_ ten year old dweeb wearing a suit and-"She pretended to gasp. "No glasses? My, my - don't we look dashing today?" She smirked at him.

Harry ducked his head down and mumbled. "I wasn't that short back then." Fernando patted his shoulder condescendingly and staged whispered. "Yes, you were Harry."

Daphne leaned in and asked conspiratorially. "So where have you been all these years?"

Aware that their conversation was being watched by the entire hall, he chuckled. "Oh you know - **around**. Not introducing you me to your friend?" He jerked his head towards a dirty -blond haired girl, eyeing Harry with no equal amount of shock.

"You know the Boy-Who-Lived and you never told me?" The girl asked in disbelief.

"Yes, we've met '_briefly'_ six years ago. He was a rather obnoxious_ little boy_ back then. _Still is_." She turned to look at Harry. "Potter, this is Tracey Davies. Tracey, this is Potter." She then held out her hand to Anna. "Daphne Greengrass."

Anna just stared at her hand for about a moment, as if checking to see whether there was any form of malice intended behind the greeting before slowly shaking her hand. "Anna Ivanovic." She murmured.

"And you must be Fernando right? We've met before back then." She eyed him appraisingly. "You've certainly grown into a ruggedly handsome man." She smirked slightly and carefully avoided Harry's alarmed gaze.

Harry twitched slightly as Fernando leaned in close to him. "Do you want me to kill myself?" He asked uncertainly. "Because I'll do it…I think."

"I'm thinking about it." He whispered harshly.

"I'll help." Anna added.

Luckily, Harry was saved from contemplating the murder of his right hand man by the appearance of Remus and a sulking Sirius.

"Scoot over." Sirius said to Fernando as he took a seat beside Harry. "I can't believe you're in Slytherin. It goes against everything I believe in." He paused and took out his wand. _"Flagrate"_ He then begun to draw shapes resembling human heads in the air.

"_Look-_" He said as he pointed to his badly-drawn caricatures. "good people equal every other house while people who don't wash their hair equal Slytherin." He mumbled angrily and narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Are you shampooing regularly?"

"_Excuse me_, what gives you the right to insult us when you're sitting here?" A sneering blond boy hissed from further down the table.

"_Oh_, stuff a sock in it and go tell your daddy, _little nephew_." Sirius said sarcastically.

The boy huffed indignantly. "Listen Black, _I-_."

"Shut up." Harry and Sirius said in unison. The sneering boy clenched his fists and begun to cut the steak on his plate violently; aware that he would not want to cause a scene in front of the whole school. A few sniggers were heard from the other tables as the unofficial Prince of Slytherin reddened in embarrassment.

"He's your nephew?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Purebloods are all inter-related Harry, don't you know that?" Sirius answered. "His mother is my cousin who then married a pureblood scion named Malfoy and together they spawned-" He drummed his fingers on the table. "_-__Tadaa- _Little Draco over there. I might even be related to your dad." He added.

"Are you kidding me?" He asked in disbelief and grabbed Sirius's collar. "What about the Potters and the Greengrass? Are we that closely related?" He asked desperately as he shook Sirius back and forth.

Daphne reached across the table and whacked his on his head. "What made you think of that question? So help me God if you're thinking that we're going to get married, I'll-"

Remus cut her off. "So you're Gerard's daughter?" He asked curiously. "What's he doing nowadays? Is he still with his law firm?"

She nodded before kicking Harry under the table.

Harry winced and rubbed his shin. "It's a vague question Daphne, and who am I to foretell the future even if the chances of us being together are incredibly high?"

"_Wait-_" Tracey Davies said as she clicked her fingers. "so he's your mysterious eastern-European lover? All those years on Christmas, he's the one who's been sending you those presents that you've been _gushing_ over for days?"

Daphne dropped her head on the table with a _thud_, her voice muffled. "Smooth move, Trace."

Harry smiled cheekily. _"Gushing?"_ He, Fernando and Sirius said in unison. They quickly turned to look at each other.

"Oh great, another one." Anna muttered as she stared off into the distance.

"What was that, Anna?" Harry asked excitedly. "Did you somehow string certain words together to form a sentence that was meant to insult us?"

"No, _my-_ Harry." She murmured.

"Your Harry?" Tracey asked with an eyebrow raised. "Something you're not telling Daphne, Potter?" She glared at him.

Anna twitched slightly and reached her hand into her suit as if to pull out her gun. Fernando quickly stopped her and hissed into her ear. "We're normal now, _normal_."

"Well damn." Harry said as he looked at Tracey, amazed. "You got her to twitch without saying Gustav." The three of them promptly flinched and touched their right knee, a sharp pain shooting up their knee.

"_Whoa_, what the hell was that?" Sirius asked as his eyes shifted between the three. "I mean the three of you flinched at the same time. That was kinda cool. So all I have to do is say Gust-" He gulped and quickly shut his mouth when he found three wands pointed at his face.

"You will not utter that name in our presence, _ever_." Harry growled menacingly.

"And what are you doing Potter?" A silky voice drawled behind him. "Not that I mind if you kill Black or his _werewolf pet_." The black haired man spat. "Then again, threatening a person so early into your enrolment? _Tsk, tsk._ It's just as I suspected, it appears your _celebrity _status has inflated your ego. Always thinking you're above everyone else don't you, just like your father-"

Harry cut him off. "I would appreciate it if you stop talking about my father, since you know he's **dead** and all. It's kind of weird that you keep bringing him up so much. I _mean- _I'm his son and you don't hear me talking about him so often." He shocked the group into silence as he casually dismissed his father's death. "Who are you anyway?" He asked the black haired man.

Sirius shook his head sadly. "Harry, you poor bastard, I'd like you to meet the other **bastard** who is now your head of house, Professor _Snivellous_ Snape."

That seemed to enrage the man and he clenched his jaw in an effort to contain his anger. Harry quickly turned to look Daphne. "What's his real name? I mean what poor bastard is named _Snape_? That kind of sounds like a _'Snapple'_ flavour." He chuckled. "_Snape Apple Snapple_."

This sent Sirius into a howling laughter while Remus hid his sniggers behind his hand. Even Daphne and Tracey had to fight from showing the smile twitching on their lips.

"Detention tomorrow at my office." Snape hissed.

"Detention? Isn't that for children who do naughty things and have to sit in the corner?" Harry asked before he nodded his head. "It's fair, I suppose. I did insult your father. Would you mind apologizing to him for me?"

"I can't, seeing that he's been dead for twenty years." Snape replied through gritted teeth.

"Hey." Harry brightened. "Like my dad. We're both alike if you think about it."

Snape twitched slightly, appalled that Potter had the audacity to insinuate that they were similar. He sneered at him and walked away before he did something to the hell spawn of James Potter that he'd regret…maybe.

"That was…fun." Harry turned back to face the group. "So what's it like here at Hogwarts? I heard some exciting stuff happened while you were in school." He asked as a dark smile crept on his face.

*~*~*~*~*

"So then, these two idiots, Weasley and Finnegan rushed to the supposed forbidden corridor to try and stop Professor Snape from stealing the _Philosopher Stone_ but instead of Snape, they found Professor Quirrel instead. When they barged into the room, they apparently disrupted Quirrel's process to try and lull the Cerberus guarding the room to sleep." Tracey paused and drank from her goblet. "Long story short, the dog ate him and those two Gryffindor idiots have been overbearing ever since."

_"Wow-"_ Fernando breathed. "I always thought a three-headed dog would be useful for something." A small sadistic look on his face. "Anything else we need to know?"

Daphne scrunched up her face in thought. "Well there was that 'Chamber of Secrets' fiasco and about Black-" She looked pointedly at Sirius. "But you already know that."

"Yeah, any ideas what happened to the chamber thing?" Harry asked.

"Supposedly, some student got possessed by an evil spirit or something and attacked the caretaker's cat." Daphne shrugged. "All we're told is that Dumbledore managed to banished the spirit away before it could plan another attack."

"You know, people get possessed a lot here at Hogwar-" Fernando was cut off.

"Students, if I may have your attention please? There is a meeting regarding the first task of the Triwizard tournament. Champions, if you'd please step this way." Dumbledore's voice carried through the hall as he gestured to a door on the side of the hall.

Harry sighed. "I guess that's my cue to leave. Daphne, Tracey." He nodded to the two girls as he stood up.

"Later _champ_." Daphne smirked at him.

Anna and Fernando followed him as he walked to the door. Surprisingly, Sirius and Remus tagged along as well.

He entered the sparsely-lit room where the only source of light was from the fireplace at the opposite side of the room. The room was deathly silent as he entered, each of the individuals in the room staring at him with some amount of hate, suspicion and wariness.

The silence was broken by a tall and thin man; his shaggy black hair and goatee that ended with a small curl. The man sneered at him and spoke in a Slavic tone. "Dumbledore, we have already agreed against our better judgement that the boy is allowed to compete but why should he have so many advisor?" His beady eyes trailing to observe the group behind Harry. "Does it state in the rules that the _'fourth' champion-_" He spat. "be allowed to have more than one advisor?" He suddenly looked up in shock. "Oh wait, nowhere in the rules states that there was to be a _'fourth'_ _cham_-"

Dumbledore interrupted him. "Igor, we have been through this." He sighed wearily. "The rules states that those people whose names come out of the Goblet of Fire are bound to compete in the tournament." Dumbledore turned to look at a man who vaguely resembled Hitler due to his toothbrush-like moustache. "Isn't that right, Barty?"

The man nodded. "It is clearly stated, and there is no way around it unless the champion wishes forfeit and risk losing his magic."

A rather large woman stood up to her full height, her head slightly touching the ceiling. She sneered and glared at Harry. "Yes, but 'ow do we know he didn't put it in himself and 'ow did was he able to get past ze age-line?" She drawled.

Dumbledore turned to look at Harry and put his hand on Harry's shoulders. "Did you put your name in the Goblet?" He asked seriously. "Or asked somebody older to do it for you?"

"No." Harry deadpanned. "Did you?"

Dumbledore tensed slightly.

Harry gave an annoyed frown as he briefly wondered how stupid can these people get. 'Wait, better say it out loud.'

"How stupid can you people get? I wasn't in England when my name was called out, so how could I possibly put it in myself." He growled to the group in general and pulled out his parchment. "Look, you idiots, there's no name on it except for my blood. Itwas rather ingenious to use my blood for a magically binding contract. Have you never heard of blood contracts before?" He asked sarcastically.

Karkaroff shifted his eyes over towards Dumbledore, suspicion dancing in his eyes. "Whoever did this was knowledgeable of the nature of magical contracts."

"Listen-" A man _'clanked'_ his wooden peg on the floor as he called for attention. One of his eyes was normal but the other had been replaced by a glowing blue orb, much like a prosthetic which twirled in his socket. "It'd be useless to start arguing since there's no other way around. Unless you have any other alternatives, I suggest we continue with the instructions for the first task."

"Fine." Karkaroff grumbled under his breath as he glared at the scarred man. "Still, why does he have so many advisors?"

Dumbledore nodded and turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter, I'm afraid your friends aren't allowed here right now."

Harry examined what he thought were his competitors in the room. A tall, dark haired and browned eye boy was leaning against the walls, looking on disinterested at the scene. He appeared to be fighting of exhaustion as his eyes were drooping and he was yawning ever so often.

A gangly boy with long black hair was standing next to the heavily scarred man; he narrowed his eyes at Harry as their eyes connected. A scowl on his face and he turned to look away.

Finally, a girl with silvery blond hair and large, deep eyes who only looked back curiously. The large woman hovered protectively behind her as she laid her huge hands on the girl's shoulders. The girl buckled slightly under the weight but quickly regained her composure.

"How about them?" Harry jerked his head to the rest of the adults in the room; he vaguely recognized some of them sitting at the staff table.

"They're the champions' advisors and the rest are supervisors of the tournament." Dumbledore answered.

Harry sighed. "Fine, Fernando-" Fernando perked up. "Get out. Remus, Sirius, you too. Out now." The three of them grudgingly left the room as they grumbled about the unfairness of the world. "I'll tell you later." Harry shouted to their retreating backs.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Harry, are you sure you want Ms. Ivanovic to be your advisor? It's a very important position. Every one of our champions has chosen a teacher, perhaps Septima over the-"

"Is it stated in the rules that I have to choose a teacher?" Harry cut in and glanced at the official with the Hitler moustache, he slowly shook his head. "Anna stays." He said blankly.

"All right. Now, I'll pass it on to Mr. Barty Crouch, the head of the International Magical Co-operation who will instruct you on the first task."

Crouch coughed to get their attention. "Now, seeing that all of the champions are here, we can finally release the details of the first task. The first task is designed to test your courage and daring. As such, no information shall be revealed until the start of the task which is three weeks away from now. Now, as for-"

Crouch was cut off by the aloof boy wearing the fur uniform of Durmstrang who yawned loudly. "Gregorio-" Karkaroff hissed. "Silence."

"As I was about to say-" He looked pointedly at the Durmstrang champion. "the champions will face the first task armed with only their wands. The details of the second task will only be revealed once the first task is over. That is all." He said before he smiled politely to the group.

Harry and Anna were the first out of the door and walked over to the group sitting at the front of the Slytherin table. The Great Hall was deserted except for them, since dinner was already over and the students must have moved on to their respective dormitories.

"Well?" Sirius asked excitedly.

Harry just shrugged. "I don't know, they only told us that the first task was three weeks from on."

The doors to the room opened again as the rest of the champions and teachers exited the hall. The two foreign champions left through the main entrance while the black-haired boy just scowled at him and walked away.

"Mr. Potter, do you mind if I talk to you for a moment in my office?" Dumbledore asked as he approached the group.

"Sure." Harry shrugged. "We do have a lot to _discuss_."

The five of them followed Dumbledore as they walked up the crazy-moving staircases to his office. "What's the point of them moving? I mean what happens if somebody just drops down because they never noticed the stairs move?" Harry asked.

"Oh, there's nothing to fret about. The castle recognizes each of the magical signatures of its occupants inside, so there is never a risk of that happening. Why of course-"

Harry drifted off as Dumbledore continued to rattle on and on about the mysteries he had observed over the years. He sighed inwardly. If he couldn't pay attention for five minutes, how was he going to pay attention in class?

They quickly reached an empty corridor with a stone gargoyle statue. Dumbledore immediately stood in front the statue and said "Mars Bars."

'Great, he really has gone senile.' Harry thought.

To Harry's surprise, the statue jumped out of the way, revealing a flight of steps up to a door. "Welcome to my office, Harry." Dumbledore said.

*~*~*~*~*

"Why do I get the feeling that you already know that the five of us are going to come here?" Harry asked as he took a seat on one of the five armchairs in front of the Headmaster's table. His office was littered with odd trinkets that were placed on the shelves; one of the devices suddenly gave out smoke periodically. There were bookshelves packed with faded tomes and an empty bird stand next to his desk.

"Ah, the castle is a mysterious thing Harry." Dumbledore said while his eye twinkled, as if it answered everything.

"Remy, remember that time when James and I blew up the potions lab during our fourth year and we had to come here?" Sirius said excitedly. "Good times back then."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, I believe your concoction of vanishing potion managed to vanish most of the occupants' clothes."

"Yeah, best one hundred points we ever wasted and it was worth the three months detention." He said wistfully. "James and I caught an eyeful of Debby Harrison without…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Remus coughed. "Yes, I believe she was one of the first to develop in our cohort?"

Sirius nodded. "God bless Hufflepuffs." He winced as he rubbed his cheeks. "But they have a mean right hook too. I wonder what happened to her; maybe I should pay her a visit."

"Too late, she got married thirteen years ago." Remus said.

"Damn." Sirius grumbled under his breath.

"First, let me start by saying it is good to see you alive and in good health, Harry. We were all very worried when you were taken away from your relatives' house." Dumbledore said as his eyes twinkled when he regarded Harry.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Well, we have you to thank for that actually, since I learned you were the one who put me with them but…that was another chapter of my life that I do not like to reminisce. Still, I'm sure they were _slightly_ better than an orphanage in any case."

"I would like to apologize, Harry but I had hoped that Petunia would be able to look past her resentment for your mother but sadly I was mist-"

Harry cut him off. "Sure, apology accepted. I just want to know the real reason why I'm here."

Dumbledore tensed and wriggled his hands worriedly. "Yes Harry. As you may have already guessed, it was I who put your name in the Goblet of Fire but you must believe me when I say I have a very good reason for my actions." He said hesitantly.

"Go on." Harry said blankly.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at Harry's calm demeanour. "You're not angry?"

Harry shook his head, using his Occlumency training to control his emotions. "Hell yeah I'm angry, but it's stupid to get upset over something that has been done. I'll just bottle it up for more _constructive_ _purposes_."

'Like chucking you into the the lake with cement shoes.' He thought inwardly as a small chuckle escaped his lips.

Dumbledore nodded uncertainly. "Perhaps I should inform you what had occurred in the time that you were away from-"

Fernando cut him off. "We've already heard about Voldemort's resurrection and what not. So if you'd please cut to the chase." He snapped his fingers impatiently.

"_Oh_, may I inquire how you already know this information?"

"No." Anna said curtly.

"_Yes-_" Dumbledore cleared his throat, slightly peeved at their rudeness. "well, I brought Harry back to England because I believe that Harry is the only one who can defeat Voldemort. Without him, Wizarding England will fall into Voldemort's hands."

"Does it have to do with the cursed scar?" Harry pulled up his fringe and waved his wand over his forehead, cancelling the glamour charm. "I suppose you know why he went after me and the reason why I was able to survive a killing curse."

Dumbledore sighed wearily. "It's one and the same, Harry. Voldemort came after you because of a prophecy and you survived because of it."

"You expect me to believe that a dark lord actually puts stock in Divination?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle as he was called prior to being Lord Voldemort; is a man who fears the unknown. It was during a job interview about fifteen years ago when the prophecy was revealed to me. Sadly, at that time, one of Voldemort's spies managed to hear the prophecy and report it back to him."

Dumbledore stood up and walked over to his shelves. He waved his hand over a section of the wall and it shimmered, revealing a stone basin. "This is a pensieve; one simply siphons the excess thoughts from one's mind, pours them into the basin and examines them at one's pleasure." He chuckled. "When you've lived as long as I do, you tend to forget the little details." He said as he brought the pensieve to the table.

He waved his hand over the basin and it glowed before a mist appeared above it and an image appeared much like a projector. A woman with rather round like glasses with bug eyes appeared on the screen. She suddenly turned rigid and spoke in a weird tone as if in a trance.

"_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies...and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives....__" _The mist quickly disappeared as she finished the sentence.

"I'm afraid that is all I can show you. When Voldemort learned that there was a child that could be the result of his downfall, he immediately acted on it." Dumbledore said sombrely. "As you can see the prophecy states that you are the one destined to defeat Voldemort. You fit everything described in the prophecy even where he marked you as his equal." He stared pointedly at Harry's scar.

"You mean to tell me that Trelawney gave the bloody prophecy? What's the proof that it's even real?" Sirius half-shouted.

"It is real Sirius; you saw the signs. She went into a prophetic trance and after she ended it, she appeared dazed and she did not have any recollection of reciting the prophecy."

Harry scoffed. "My parents died because this woman thought that I was the only one capable of killing Voldemort?" He asked rhetorically.

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "I'm sorry Har-"

"Stop apologizing." He hissed angrily before calming down and began to rub the bridge of his nose. "Look, I don't believe in Divination. A friend of mine once said _'Those who can't do, teach. Those who can't teach, teach Divination'_." Harry deadpanned before tossing his hand up in the air. "Listen, I'll help you with this Voldemort fellow but I expect to be paid for terminating him _oh-_ and compensation for being forced into this tournament." He huffed.

"Excuse me?" Dumbledore asked perplexed. "Compensation?"

Harry pretended looked up in shock. "You just hired us to do a service, Headmaster. You did want me to _'defeat_' this Voldemort, did you not?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"Well then, my associates and I expect to be paid for this. Don't worry, Headmaster. We have very _'reasonable rates'_ and a good track record when it comes to dealing with these types of…_individuals_." He smiled darkly. "We're very good at what we do."

Three pairs of eyebrows rose at that point. "You mean li-like an assassin or something?" Sirius stammered.

Fernando shook his head and answered him. "We prefer the term; mercenaries."

Dumbledore eyes widened. "Oh Harry, what have you done to yourself?" His voice quivering as he looked at Harry pitifully, his eyes watery from unshed tears.

"Why?" Harry asked in disbelief. "I'm happy doing what I do and I love the people I've been doing it with. When I was taken away from the Dursleys, it was the second best thing to happen in my life."

"What's the first?" Dumbledore asked curiously as he dabbed his eyes with the sleeves of his robe.

"Meeting Daphne." Harry sighed dreamily as his eyes had a faraway look in them.

"Yes, you two seem pretty familiar with one another; you must have met her before you came to Hogwarts. May I inquire how you and Ms. Greengrass met?"

"It does not concern you, sir." Harry said curtly. "While I do not hold any grudges against you for your past transgressions, I would like to keep my personal life_ -well_, personal. From now on, I believe it would be best if we were to keep our relationship strictly professional."

Dumbledore had a defeated look on his face. "If that is what you wish, Mr. Potter, I will honour your request but I would like to think that if you have any problems, you would not hesitate to come to me. After all, we are together in this from now on." He said as his eyes regained his customary twinkle.

"Sure." He said blankly. "Anything else?"

"Oh, I forgot to inform you that the examiners for your OWLs will arrive tomorrow. Your letter did mention that you were already prepared for the exams."

"It did?" Fernando asked.

Harry not-so-subtlety hit him in the ribs. "Yeah, _it did_. If that is all, Headmaster?" Dumbledore smiled politely and nodded his head.

*~*~*~*~*

Dumbledore watched the retreating backs of Harry and his companions. His mind working furiously despite his calm demeanour. 'A mercenary at such a young age?' He thought as he stroked his beard. It did sound rather far-fetched but it would somewhat explain where Harry had been over the years and why it was so hard to locate him.

Still, Harry being what he is, could have a very adverse effect on the student body, _heck-_ maybe even some of the less experienced teachers. It wouldn't be good to have another fiasco like the year before, and the year before that and…

Dumbledore shook his head. No, he had faith that Harry would be able to control his impulses. After all, he did say he was a professional; he wouldn't just kill anyone who annoyed him.

'No _wait-…_he said he was very good at what he did.' Dumbledore eyes widened. 'And he's a mercenary.' He thought before he _'thumped' _his head on his desk. Still, Harry being what he is, could prove to be very useful in the coming war. Judging by what he had seen from Harry's transfiguration skills, Harry had indeed inherited his father's affinity in that subject.

Then again, he wondered if Harry was travelling down the same path as Voldemort. It was not because of Harry's placement in Slytherin. He did not believe that all Slytherins are evil and automatically sided with Voldemort. Perhaps Severus may have fitted into that category but he did know a few Slytherins who refused to side with Voldemort. However, the similarities between the two were too strong even down to their intense eyes which seemed to be able to pierce the very soul of a man.

He wanted to believe that despite Harry's _unusual_ occupation, Harry still had a conscience; a heart underneath his cold exterior. 'Yes, people who use disagreeable methods for the purest of intentions.' He reasoned.

After all, dark times were coming and Voldemort was surely not going to play nice. He sighed wearily. Now, the only predicament was that; how in the world was he going to afford their _'reasonable rates'._

He narrowed his eyes and mumbled angrily. "Damn schoolteacher's salary."

* * *

A/N: Again, one of the more harder chapter as yet...feels a bit iffy on some parts, so spot any errors or offer some _constructive feedback_...please review. It's all a learning process besides writing was never one of my strong suits.

Oh, and another thing - for those of you who write in FF, what happens when that life thing in your documents upload reaches zero? Furthermore; is there some way that I can sort the documents in the list? My document area's getting messy.

_I am in no way affiliated with 'Snapple' or its various subsidiaries._

_Remember I'm not endorsing Snapple but...__the fruity & thirst-quenching flavour as it slids down your throat. The sigh of contentment as you realize that that something in your life you thought was missing, is now found. The disappointment you feel when you're shaking an empty bottle. The exhilarating thrill as you stop at your nearest supermarket or grocery shop and reached for that special bottle. The orgasmic pleasure wracking your entire body as your lips touch that fruity liquid._

_As they say, run forrest run! run to the nearest convenience store....  
_


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